back to article Self-driving car supremo Anthony Levandowski sentenced to 18 months in the clink for stealing trade secrets from Google's Waymo

Anthony Levandowski, the top engineer who pleaded guilty to stealing self-driving car trade secrets from Google, was sent down for 18 months in the US on Tuesday. Levandowski, who was sentenced by federal district court Judge William Alsup in San Francisco, must also cough up $756,499.22 in compensation to Google and a fine of …

  1. Imhotep

    I Can Wait

    Reminds me of the prisoner who, when allowed to pick his method of execution, pointed to a seedling and said "Hang me from that tree. I can wait."

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So... What did he spend the millions on? Oh yeah: lawyers.

    1. sanmigueelbeer

      What did he spend the millions on? Oh yeah: lawyers.

      He must've been skimping on the lawyer(s) because he lost.

    2. druck Silver badge

      A tiny 3/4 million payout in compensation, a pocket change $95k fine, and a $179m lawsuit still comes way short of the £680m from the sale to Uber.

      1. The Man Who Fell To Earth Silver badge
        FAIL

        A startup is more than one jackass

        That £680m went to a lot more people than him. VC'S, employees, etc.

  3. Neil Barnes Silver badge

    Sympathy?

    [ ] yes

    [x] no

  4. big_D Silver badge

    Home Confinement...

    Levandowski had hoped for a year of home confinement

    Given that half the world has been living in home confinement on and off since February, that is hardly an "fit punishment" at the moment, that wouldn't even count as a "slap on the wrist" at the moment.

  5. trevorde Silver badge

    All for nought

    He stole all that technology and Uber's self driving cars *still* manage to run people over

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
      Stop

      Re: All for nought

      Didn't he steal the programs on how Google used lidar/radar?

      Clearly what he needed to do was steal the bit that dealt with the brakes. Because Uber's implementation of that was so pisspoor that they had to disable it, lest its constant slamming on of the anchors rattle the "safety driver's" teeth out. And who needs a self driving car that can stop? Pointless luxury I say!

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: All for nought

        FYI, it was the Volvos built-in auto braking system that was disabled so as not to interfere with their self-driving systems brake control.

        1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

          Re: All for nought

          John Brown,

          Nope. You’re right that they did disable the auto-braking on the Volvo, so as not to interfere with their testing. But they also disabled the emergency braking mode on their own fucking system - because it was so shit that it was randomly triggering. So their own system would slow down for junctions or other cars, in normal operation. But if it saw something that it didn’t understand, it would sound an alarm for the "safety driver" to decide whether to brake. As happens, the report on the crash showed that their system was so shit that it detected the cyclist it ran over, but was unable to classify what she was and so just ploughed into her anyway, while it was deciding.

          1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

            Re: All for nought

            Ah, ok then. I must have missed that detail in all the reporting on that crash.

            1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

              Re: All for nought

              El Reg had an article on the accident report last year. I remember being astounded by how shockingly bad their system is. And their management, for ever allowing something so unfinished on the roads.

  6. PhilipN Silver badge

    Draconian

    In the non-US Anglo-Saxon world it would be a civil suit for damages and an injunction against the beneficiaries.

    In the Land of the Free it’s jail time (eventually).

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Re: Draconian

      Are you sure? He stole tech that allowed him to found a company and sell it about a year later for $700m! Surely stealing $700m worth of some company's intellectual property is worth jail time anwhere?

      I'm sure Uber over-valued it, because they were only spending their Venture Capitalist backers cash (something they do an awful lot of) - but even so he stole IP worth hundreds of millions.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Draconian

        Yes, because Google discovered RADAR and LIDAR technology in the UK during World War 2...

        1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

          Re: Draconian

          Are you suggesting that Robert Watson-Watt invented self-driving car technology along with his radars then?

          LIDAR was, I believe, invented in the 60s - after the invention of the laser.

      2. PhilipN Silver badge

        Re: Draconian

        If I agree it is only on the narrowest of grounds (which means I don't).

        In fact, respectfully, you almost make my point for me. If he banked $700M then why were the damages nowhere that much?

        The article itself says "prosecutors failed to produce explicit evidence that any of Waymo’s technology had been used". So......?

        More to the point :

        1. He was a hot shot, with existing skills and knowledge, when he was recruited. Who did he, and Google, rip off while he was there?

        2. The IT Security guy who allowed this to happen should be fired.

        3. The executive who decided to make the report should be fired : the next time a hot shot turns up in Google HR he is going to think "They do not want me for my looks. They will leech my skills and knowledge then either I am unemployable or in jail. Sayonara."

        Lose - lose.

  7. macjules

    “Why I went to federal prison,”

    That is absolutely brilliant. I wish we had something like that here in the UK.

    1. NightFox

      Re: “Why I went to federal prison,”

      Putting aside any subjective feelings about this specific case, I don't understand America's interpretation of "cruel and unusual punishment" which is accepted to include banning humiliating punishments, yet I frequently see US judges meting out 'creative' sentences like this clearly intended to humiliate the culprit. I sometimes get the impression that US judges are free to dream up any punishment they like - surely there's some form of control here?

      Of course the baying mobs love this stuff, and retribution is always going to be a part of punishment, but I'm not sure that humiliating punishments belong in civilised society.

      1. big_D Silver badge

        Re: “Why I went to federal prison,”

        You should watch re-runs of L.A. Law...

        But I find this a good thing, if it can help stop other people making stupid mistakes, I'm all for it. The prisons in the US are already overcrowded.

      2. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

        Re: “Why I went to federal prison,”

        Community Service is pretty common over here. And while lots of ordinary people get litter-picking or helping old people with their shopping - I don't think it's unusual here to have the celebs do awareness campaigns against drink driving (or whatever it is they did).

      3. The Man Who Fell To Earth Silver badge
        WTF?

        Re: “Why I went to federal prison,”

        In the US, a death sentance itself is not cruel & unusual if something like a simple hanging. That clause of the US Constitution was to prevent those fine British traditions such as being hung until almost dead, then drawn & quartered.

        1. Vincent Ballard
          Coat

          Re: “Why I went to federal prison,”

          That's not actually the correct order. Besides that, by the time of the American Revolution the sentence as practised was not the same as the sentence as dictated. An Irish cousin of mine was sentenced to the full works for high treason three decades later, but the actual execution was carried out as hanging followed by beheading.

    2. steviebuk Silver badge

      Re: “Why I went to federal prison,”

      You sometimes do. Back in the early 90s a US man came to our school in the UK, I can't remember if he was in prison in the UK or in the US, it was for drugs. Anyway, he convinced us it wasn't nice. One story was:

      "I could hear a guy screaming in his cell, then he proceeded to crawl out on all fours with a broom handle stuck up his arse that another inmate had forced up there as punishment".

      Grime.

  8. Potemkine! Silver badge

    an American exec is actually going to serve time

    Only because he screwed another company.

  9. I am the liquor

    $750k

    "the biggest trade secrets crime I have ever seen" but only $750,000 in compensation?

  10. iron Silver badge

    1. Steal trade secrets.

    2. Sell to Uber for $680m.

    3. Pay $756,499.22 fine.

    4. ...

    5. $679 profit!!!

    Where did that money go? It can't all have been lawyer's fees.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Less than $1million in damages

    In March the Reg reported that he was estimated to be worth $50-100million. As this is comfortably less than the $179million Google are suing him for he declared bankruptcy. Google will get all his money, rather than the State.

  12. lglethal Silver badge
    Facepalm

    You also missed the part where he is suing Uber for $4.1 billion, to do with his truck startup, Otto.

    What a great chap. Well if he wins that case, then I'm sure he wont mind paying google back its $700m...

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
      Happy

      I'd quite like him to win that case against Uber. So long as he then has to pay all the money to Google and the courts.

      I've no idea of the merits of the case you understand, I just like to see Uber losing money.

      Obviously this means I'm normally a very happy man...

      [Oi! El Reg! Where's the Postman Pat icon?]

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Straight & Narrow?

    Worrying that a proponent of self driving vehicles seems incapable of keeping himself on a straight and narrow path!

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like