What can be compelling evidence that insiders within an organization are divulging confidential and privileged trade secrets for personal gain, Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), filed a lawsuit against her former employee Simon Lancaster. Lancaster, who has become a high-profile head of materials for the company, is accused of knowingly accessing highly classified information about upcoming Apple products and on several occasions selling that information to the media. The trade secrets were supposed to be sold in exchange for favorable coverage of the startup by an unnamed media organization. 
In Apple's case against Lancaster, which involved Apple Insider, a former Apple employee who worked at Apple from 2008 to 2019, was accused of abusing his position and trusting Apple by systematically spreading Apple's confidential trade secrets to gain personal gain from the media. As a high-ranking official, Lancaster was accused of accessing internal trade secrets from documents outside his job requirements and responsibilities, and passing them on to a media reporter, who then published the stolen material on an unnamed media platform in several articles.
Lancaster was further charged with unauthorized access to Apple's trade secrets even after leaving Apple for materials research and development firm Arris, which was Apple's supplier, in clear violation of an existing agreement between the two companies. Following the continued transfer of Apple trade secrets to a media reporter even after leaving Apple, an investigation was launched to examine the devices used by the accused former employees. An investigation revealed that Lancaster did take steps to steal additional Apple trade secrets after leaving the company. He was accused of regularly communicating with a reporter and sending specific details upon request, even using devices released by Apple in some cases.
Apple said that Lancaster's willful actions violated the Trade Secrets Act, California's Uniform Trade Secrets Act and the written contract. Therefore, Apple asks the court to provide all the remedies sought, including damages, restitution, and legal fees.
