Fitbit has been sued by one of its top competitors over allegations of theft of confidential information. Jawbone filed papers at San Francisco Superior Court claiming that Fitbit poached 15 employees that are thought to of or are under suspicion of copying important documents onto thumb drives as they were exiting the company. Following Fitbit trying to recruit over 30% of Jawbone’s employees, Jawbone is claiming Fitbit has been engaged in a covert effort to steal talent, intellectual property, and trade secrets. The thumb drives in question are said to contain information on supply chain, market predictions, financials, and product roadmaps. For its part Fitbit is claiming that the allegations are baseless and that they are “unaware of any confidential or proprietary information of Jawbone in our possession.” Jawbone is seeking unspecified financial compensation for its losses and a bar on further poaching of employees. News of the lawsuit comes as Fitbit prepares for its IPO.
