A star employee leaves a company to join, or become, a competitor, and the former employer sues both the departing employee and the company who hired him for stealing its secrets. Legal battles like that are pervasive across all industries, but one of these high profile, high-stakes lawsuits is at the center of the race to self-driving cars: the dispute between Google and Uber. The suit will do more than determine the future of an important industry — it is a window into the rising number of disputes over talent mobility and trade secrets.