Ex-Opera designer leaks mini-browser plans to rival Mozilla

Opera Software claims a former employee incorporated designs he produced for the browser-maker into a project for competitor Mozilla. Mozilla says it was not involved.

The staffer, Trond Werner Hansen, consulted Opera between 2009 and 2010, after stepping down from fulltime employment there in 2006.

In a lawsuit “Opera alleged that Hansen shared confidential information, including work he did while at the company, with Mozilla.” About two years after separating from Opera, the alleged IP thief worked as a contractor for Mozilla. Hansen no longer works for either company.

Last summer, Hansen presented a prototype of an iPad-capable browser, called "Junior," at a Mozilla event.

“The issues at the root of the lawsuit included similarities in the search button placement and location of users' bookmarks in the work Hansen did at and for Opera, and what he prototyped in Junior.”