Weibao Wang, a former software engineer at Apple, was charged with stealing trade secrets related to autonomous systems, including self-driving cars
Wang worked at Apple from 2016 to 2018, and was granted access to sensitive data.
After leaving Apple, Wang allegedly took the data to China, where he worked for a self-driving car company.
Weibao Wang was convicted on all counts of stealing trade secrets and attempting to export them to China.
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $1 million in restitution to Apple.
Wang is the third former Apple employee to be accused of stealing trade secrets related to autonomous systems.
The United States government is taking steps to address the issue of intellectual property theft. In 2018, the Trump administration signed the Economic Espionage and Trade Secrets Act, which increased the penalties for trade secret theft. The government is also working to strengthen international cooperation to combat intellectual property theft.