Dec 18, 2019 - Technology

Augmented reality rival claims Magic Leap's lawsuit is baseless

Ina Fried

NReal augmented reality (AR) glasses, on the last day of CES 2019, — NReal augmented reality glasses at CES 2019. Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Augmented reality startup Nreal is asking a court to throw out a lawsuit from Magic Leap, saying the heavily touted startup's suit amounts to sour grapes rather than a breach of contract.

Why it matters: The virtual reality and augmented reality markets are taking longer to develop, prompting companies to compete for their slice of a smaller-than-anticipated pie.

In June, Magic Leap sued Nreal and CEO Chi Xu, who worked at Magic Leap for about a year, from mid-2015 to mid-2016. The suit alleges that Xu and Nreal are exploiting "Magic Leap's confidential and proprietary information to unfairly compete in the development of wearable spatial computing glasses and other related technology."
In its motion to dismiss, Nreal said "rather than focus on developing a superior product, Magic Leap has resorted to filing lawsuits to slow down new entrants in the AR market."
Magic Leap was not immediately available for comment.

The big picture: Despite tons of buzz and billions of dollars in funding, Magic Leap has struggled to get its product to market, and recently announced layoffs.

It's also had quite a bit of litigation for a young company, including a prior trade secret suit against an ex-employee, a legal fight with its former head of security, and a now-settled sex discrimination case with another former employee.

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Augmented reality rival claims Magic Leap's lawsuit is baseless

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