Charged over blueprint

SAN FRANCISCO: United States authorities have charged a former Apple Inc employee with theft of trade secrets, claiming the person downloaded a secret blueprint related to a selfdriving car to a personal laptop and later tried to flee the country, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.

It says former employee Xiaolang Zhang disclosed intentions to work for a Chinese selfdriving car startup and booked a lastminute flight to China after downloading the plan for a circuit board for the selfdriving car, reports said yesterday.

Authorities arrested Zhang on July 7, at the San Jose airport. — Reuters