Lux Optics, the company behind the Halide iPhone camera app, filed a civil lawsuit against co-founder Sebastiaan de With in Santa Cruz County, California, on March 19, 2026. Lux alleges that he took company source code and confidential information when he moved to Apple. De With’s lawyers deny that he used, transferred, or disclosed Lux intellectual property at Apple and call the lawsuit retaliatory. The allegations have not been proven, and Apple is not named as a defendant in the reported case.
Who filed the lawsuit, and what is established?
The indexed complaint identifies Lux Optics Incorporated—not its CEO personally—as the plaintiff, and de With as the defendant. Ben Sandofsky, Lux’s co-founder and CEO, is described in coverage as the person who brought the dispute forward. The case is Lux Optics Incorporated v. Sebastiaan de With, number 26CV00920, in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Cruz. The indexed record lists claims including fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of trade secrets. The complaint record and civil case cover sheet establish that a case was filed; they do not establish that the allegations are true.
A civil complaint is one side’s account of a dispute. A claim for misappropriation of trade secrets alleges unauthorized acquisition, disclosure, or use of protected confidential business information; it is not a court finding that any of those things occurred. The complaint also requests declaratory relief, meaning a formal determination of legal rights, and a jury trial. A jury demand does not mean a trial will necessarily take place.
What does Lux allege de With did?
According to the complaint and reporting about it, Lux alleges that more than $150,000 in company funds was used for personal expenses beginning in or around 2022, including travel and other charges. The company also alleges that de With retained or removed Lux property, confidential material, information about future products, and source code, and that he misappropriated trade secrets after joining Apple. These are allegations by Lux, not findings of financial misconduct or code transfer. The Information’s account describes the allegations and the response.
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How does de With respond?
De With’s lawyers reportedly call the lawsuit meritless and deny that he used, transferred, or disclosed Lux intellectual property at Apple. They say the expenses were ordinary, disclosed business activity in a small company that lacked formal controls, and were only later characterized as improper. They also say de With raised concerns about Lux’s finances and sought access to company records. Their account portrays the suit as retaliation intended to deflect scrutiny of Sandofsky’s conduct. Those assertions are also disputed claims; they have not been established by a court. The Information and PetaPixel report the denial and retaliation argument.
What is Apple’s connection to the dispute?
Reports say Apple held talks to acquire Lux Optics in summer 2025, but the discussions ended without a deal, reportedly in September. The reported rationale was that Lux’s camera software and expertise could help improve the iPhone Camera experience; that does not establish that Apple intended to copy Halide or use its code. The chronology described in coverage says de With was placed on leave and later fired in December 2025, then joined Apple’s design team in January 2026. Those events and the account of the acquisition talks are reported context, not findings made in the lawsuit. MacRumors and The Information describe the reported timeline.
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Apple is not named as a defendant in the reported complaint. The available reporting does not establish that Apple received or used Lux trade secrets, knew of any alleged transfer, or bears legal responsibility. A claim against a former co-founder does not itself prove wrongdoing by the company that later hired him.
Why Halide matters in this story
Lux Optics makes Halide, a camera app aimed at iPhone photographers who want more manual control than Apple’s standard Camera app offers. The company also develops Kino and Spectre. That expertise helps explain why Apple’s reported interest in acquiring Lux is relevant background, but reported acquisition discussions are not evidence that a deal occurred or that Lux technology was incorporated into Apple products. MacRumors discusses the reported interest and camera context.
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What remains unresolved?
The complaint and the accounts of the parties’ positions do not establish which specific code, repository, or confidential material is at issue; whether it was copied, retained, or disclosed; whether it qualifies as a trade secret; or whether Apple received or used it. They also do not establish the parties’ respective rights to any work, or whether a court has ordered any restrictions. The indexed record showed the case as active when reported, but no final judgment, settlement, or dismissal is established in the sources cited here. Litigation may proceed through a defendant’s response, discovery, motions, settlement discussions, or trial; the filing alone does not indicate which path the case will take.
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