Trouble over Apple's acquisition of Halide co-founder
Halide developer Sebastiaan de With is now at Apple – which raises hopes for a better camera app. But first, a legal dispute must be settled.
Halide app on the iPad.
(Image: Lux Optics)
Apple's recruitment of photo software specialist Sebastiaan de With has led to a legal dispute: A civil lawsuit is currently underway between de With and the co-founder of his former company Lux Optics – or Lux Optics itself – as reported by IT news service The Information. According to the report, Apple had already planned to acquire Lux Optics last summer. The company develops and markets popular and well-known alternative camera apps for iPhone and iPad, including Halide and Kino. However, the purchase did not materialize because de With and his co-founder Ben Sandofsky had decided that they might be able to demand a higher sum from Apple after a major Halide update. But then the iPhone manufacturer reportedly tried to hire de With directly, which finally became public in January.
Ex-company claims “financial misconduct”
What was not previously known: Sandofsky and Lux claim to have fired de With in December for “financial misconduct,” which he naturally denies. In a civil lawsuit before the California Superior Court of Santa Cruz County, Sandofsky claims, according to The Information, that de With used “$150,000 in company funds” for personal expenses since 2022, including flight tickets to São Paulo worth over $7,500.
Videos by heise
After Sandofsky made corresponding accusations against de With, an investigation by a private detective was initiated, de With was eventually sent on paid leave and later terminated. According to the lawsuit, conversations with Apple took place during de With's paid leave, which then led to de With becoming part of the company's design team in the spring.
Defendant's lawyers: “Retroactive reinterpretation”
The lawsuit further states that Apple intends to use technology from Halide for its camera app, which is to be improved along with the iPhone 18 Pro. This was reportedly communicated by an employee of the iPhone manufacturer during the acquisition negotiations. Lux Optics itself has not sued Apple, it is only trying to recover damages from de With.
His lawyers reject the lawsuit. De With has not “used, transferred, or disclosed” any intellectual property of Lux Optics for his new Apple job. He apparently sees the lawsuit as a parting shot from Sandofsky. The accusations represent “a retroactive reinterpretation of ordinary, openly communicated business activities in a small company that was jointly managed without formal controls,” de With's lawyers told The Information. “The expenses in question were recorded, visible, and never questioned at the time. Only after Mr. de With began pressing for financial transparency were they classified as impermissible.” Apple has not yet commented on the case.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
(bsc)
