Google Wins Partial Ban Against Lender in Trade Secrets Case

Google LLC secured a partial victory in California federal court where a judge prohibited a venture lender from interfering with the tech giant’s chips production while the company’s trade secrets lawsuit proceeds.

Google is likely to prove that its agreement with now-shuttered CNEX Labs Inc. gave Google a royalty-free license to independently manufacture chips if CNEX closed, according to a heavily-redacted order unsealed Aug. 15 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. CNEX creditor Point Financial Inc. can’t void the license and force Google to pay $17 million in royalties, and PFI is barred from impeding ...