Canoo Alleges Former Executives of Stealing Trade Secrets, Violating Policies, and Breach Agreements

Former employees and executives were accused by Canoo of stealing trade secrets, violating company policies, and breaching agreements to launch a rival electric vehicle company. Canoo filed a lawsuit in the United States Central District Court of California.

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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 18: A Hyundai Ioniq battery electric vehicle (BEV) charges at an Instavolt public charger on November 18, 2022 in Manchester, England. Yesterday, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer announced as part of his Autumn Statement that electric vehicles would no longer be exempt from road tax as of 2025.

Alleging Former Executives on Stealing Trade Secrets

Electric vehicle startup Canoo has accused former executives and employees of joining the company to purposely steal confidential information and trade secrets to form a new startup EV company. Engadget reported that the lawsuit was filed against competitor Harbinger in the United States Central District Court of California.

According to the file, "This is a case of corporate espionage by a group of serial grifters who infiltrated Canoo to steal its intellectual property (including its confidential information and trade secrets) and human capital."

Canoo added that their "skateboard" was stolen, a flat platform underneath an EV which includes critical components such as battery and other parts. This was allegedly used to develop the business model and form partnerships within the industry.

Harbinger is led by several former employees of Canoo, Faraday Future, and QuantumScape executives. It includes Chief Executive Officer John Harris, Chief Technology Officer Philip Weicker, Chief Operating Officer Will Eberts, and Vice President of Structures and Chassis Alexi Charbonneau. All executives mentioned were named in Canoo's lawsuit.

"Weicker, Charbonneau, and Eberts misappropriated vast amounts of Canoo's financial resources, business plans, human capital, trade secrets, and other intellectual property, and conspired with Harris, who was employed elsewhere, to form Harbinger using Canoo's stolen intellectual property," the filing added.

Recruiting Employees

Several employees from Canoo announced their plans to join Harbinger in recent months. Car Scoops reported that at least 33 employees joined the new company, as they stole the trade secrets including their skills and training. This makes up approximately 66% of Harbinger's total workforce.

The company was recently launched in Los Angeles last September and is targeting a burgeoning commercial in the market of electric vehicles. A medium-duty plan was also introduced by Harbinger, Class 4 through 7 segments that will start this fall.

Harbinger's Response

A spokesperson from Harbinger stated that the company and its co-founders have always worked with their utmost integrity. The accusations from its former employer were denied as they never engaged in actions that would cause any lawsuit and issues to the company.

But despite this, the company remains confident in its position as it will keep defending its workforce against the "baseless" allegations brought by the other party.

As per Business Insider's report, Canoo said that intellectual property has always been taken seriously by the company since then, hence their aggressiveness towards this case.