U.S. judge grants partial injunction against Uber in Waymo car case

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. judge granted a partial injunction against Uber Technologies Inc in a high-profile trade secrets case with Alphabet's Waymo self-driving car unit, ordering Uber to promptly return any Waymo files downloaded by a former Waymo engineer.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco, made public on Monday, said Uber "likely knew" or should have known that the engineer, who now works at Uber, took Waymo materials while Uber was contemplating buying the engineer's company. However, the judge also said few of Waymo's alleged trade secrets have been traced to Uber's self-driving car technology, and that Waymo's patent claims against Uber have proved "meritless."

(Reporting by Dan Levine; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)