Uber's lawyers are asking a judge to order Google co-founder Larry Page to sit for two more hours of questioning in the huge lawsuit between the two companies.
Uber's lawyers are asking a judge to order Google co-founder Larry Page to sit for two more hours of questioning in the massive lawsuit between the two companies. The lawsuit centers on trade secrets allegedly stolen from Waymo, Alphabet's self-driving car subsidiary.
Uber's lawyers were able to question Page at length on July 17, but they're asking for two more hours of questioning.
They argued on Wednesday that Page wasn't properly prepared for the deposition by his lawyers, and that his lawyers refused to turn over some important documents.
"Yet during the deposition Mr. Page consistently disclaimed knowledge about any of these topics. Mr. Page could not recall any trade secrets that are at issue in this litigation, despite his involvement in" Google's self-driving projects, Uber's lawyers wrote in a Wednesday filing.
Uber's lawyers also published a heavily redacted transcript of the July 17th deposition.
The transcript is full of examples of Page responding tersely to questioning, such as this exchange:
Uber: Google invested in Uber; correct?
Page: Yes.
Uber: Do you recall when?
Page: My answer is yes.
Page said he wasn't familiar with how Google stores source code:
Uber: Do you know the way that Google typically retains things, like source code materials and design specifications, and things like that?
Page: Yeah, I'm not that familiar with how we do that.
Uber: Is there an online repository, or do — do you even know that?
Page: I mean, there's some code-based repository thingy.
And this feisty exchange:
Uber: You're not familiar with the details of the trade secrets that are at issue here?
Page: Yes.
Uber: You don't know, for example, what the trade secrets are that Uber allegedly misappropriated?
Page: No, I do not.
Uber: Whenever it was that you learned -- let me make sure I'm clear on this. You don't remember, sitting here today, when you learned or how you learned that Uber may have misappropriated Google or Waymo trade secrets; is that right?
Page: That's correct.
Uber: And you don't remember how you learned?
Page: I mean, that's correct, yes.
Uber: Did you authorize the filing of the lawsuit against Uber?
Page: I mean, I'm certainly aware of it, yeah, and then allowed it to proceed, I suppose. I'm not sure I authorized it. I'm not sure that's the right word.
Uber: Well, could a lawsuit of this magnitude be filed without your consent and approval?
Page: I mean, I guess I'm not -- I'm the CEO of the company -- parent company of Waymo, and Waymo operates more or less as an independent company.
Uber: Is Waymo authorized to file a lawsuit like this on its own without even consulting you?
Page: I mean, I don't know all the details of that.
Page questioned questioning on a $100 million bonus given while he was CEO:
Uber: You would not have approved of a bonus of over $100 million if he hadn't made a significant contribution. Can we agree on that?
Page: I guess I'm questioning — what is the purpose of that question?
Uber: No, but —
Page: So —
Uber: — you were the CEO at the time he got the bonus; right?
Page: I did not have discretion not to pay the bonus, as far as I could tell.
At one point, a lawyer representing Otto, which Uber bought, mistakes Page for the other Google co-founder, Sergey Brin:
Hello, my name is Jack Sparrow. I'm a 50 year old self-employed Pirate from the Caribbean.
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