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Here are the key things to know about Uber's ties to the self-driving startup accused of stealing Google's technology (GOOG, GOOGL)

Google is suing Uber, alleging the company stole its intellectual property. Here's how the whole mess started.

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Google's self-driving-car company Waymo filed an explosive lawsuit Thursday, alleging that Uber has used intellectual property stolen from Google in order to jump start its self-driving-car efforts.

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The allegedly stolen technology revolves around the "lidar" sensor — a key component of self-driving cars that uses lasers to map the surrounding environment. Here's what we know so far:

  • Waymo learned of the alleged theft after one of its employees was inadvertently copied on an email that included machine drawings of what appeared to be Uber's lidar circuit board. Waymo claims the drawings bore a "striking resemblance" to its own lidar system.
  • At the center of the lawsuit is Anthony Levandowski, an original team member of Google's self-driving-car project who left the company to co-found Otto, a self-driving-truck startup Uber acquired.
  • The suit claims Levandowski downloaded 14,000 highly confidential files and trade secrets, including Waymo's lidar circuit board design.

So, the three big questions that need to be answered are:

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It may be awhile before we learn the answers. But in the meantime, here's everything you need to know about Uber's relationship with Otto:

JANUARY 2016: Anthony Levandowski, an original member of Google's self-driving-car project before it became Waymo, leaves after nine years to co-found Otto, a self-driving-truck startup.

Otto's three other co-founders are also ex-Googlers:

-Lior Ron, a special advisor at Google from January to December 2015.

-Claire Delaunay, Google's head of special hardware for projects from January 2013 to March 2014 and Robotics program lead from March 2014 to February 2016.

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-Don Burnette, Google software engineer from May 2010 to February 2016.

Waymo alleges Levandowski attended meetings with high-level executives at Uber's headquarters on January 14, about two weeks before he quit.

Levandowski then formed 280 Systems, which later became OttoMotto LLC, on January 15, the lawsuit claims. Levandowski resigns from Waymo without notice on January 27, according to the suit.

MAY 2016: Otto releases a YouTube video of an 18-wheeler equipped with self-driving tech driving on a freeway without a driver behind the wheel, marking its public launch.

JULY 2016: Otto is working in a non distinctive garage in San Francisco's Mission district and has around 80 employees.

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Otto co-founder Lior Ron tells Business Insider it's making its parts in-house, including its own laser systems, in order to be as fast and efficient as possible. The self-driving kit costs $30,000.

Otto explains its mission is to equip semi-trucks with self-driving technology so the driver can take naps and lunch breaks during the long commute, as well as improve road safety.

"There's more and more demand for truck drivers to drive more with less time," Ron told Business Insider at the time. "We're living in an on-demand era where we all want to press a button and have something arrive as fast as possible. Well, there's a truck behind all of those products."

Some of the autonomous tech is tucked under the truck's hood, but the cameras, radar sensors, and lidar sensors are placed on the outside.

Waymo writes in its lawsuit that several employees left the company for Otto in July, including a supply chain manager and hardware engineer. It claims both employees downloaded confidential information before leaving.

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AUGUST 2016: Uber buys Otto, a six-month-old startup, in a deal reported to be worth $680 million. Otto employees will get a fifth of the profits Uber earns from Otto.

Source: Reuters

"Together, we now have one of the strongest autonomous engineering groups in the world," Uber CEO Travis Kalanick wrote in a blog post at the time.

OCTOBER 2016: Otto's self-driving truck drives 120 miles from Fort Collins, Colorado at 1 a.m. to Colorado Springs. The truck delivers 2,000 cases of Budweiser beer.

"We're just thrilled — we do think this is the future of transportation," James Sembrot, the senior director of logistics strategy at Anheuser-Busch InBev, told Business Insider in October.

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In an interview with Forbes that same month, Levandowski appears to go out of his way to state that Otto did not steal any of Google's intellectual property.

“We did not steal any Google IP,” Levandowski told Forbes, perhaps in answer to a question. “Just want to make sure, super clear on that. We built everything from scratch and we have all of the logs to make that—just to be super clear.

DECEMBER 2016: News breaks that Otto defied Nevada's Department of Motor Vehicles when Otto performed its first test drive in May. Otto did not obtain an autonomous vehicle testing license before shooting the May video.

Otto faces no punishment because there are no legal penalties for parties who fail to obtain the necessary permits.

Source: Backchannel's Mark Harris

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On December 13, Waymo, the name of Google's self-driving car spinoff, is inadvertently copied on an email that includes machine drawings of what appears to be Uber's lidar circuit board.

FEBRUARY 2017: Waymo makes a public records request to Nevada regulatory authorities and gets confirmation that Otto is designing and building its own lidar system in-house.

"This was the final piece of the puzzle: confirmation that Uber and Otto are in fact using a custom lidar system with the same characteristics as Waymo's proprietary system," Waymo wrote in its lawsuit.

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