A federal judge in San Jose has turned back a preliminary injunction bid from China-based ride-hailing company UCAR Inc. in a trade secret lawsuit against four former employees of its U.S. subsidiary.

UCAR and its lawyers at RuyakCherian sued four software developers in March claiming they stole company trade secrets when they resigned abruptly earlier this year to start their own driverless-car venture.

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila of the Northern District of California previously granted a temporary order barring the men from working on any project “based on UCAR data, information, or work product developed while at UCAR.” But after Davila's temporary restraining order was issued after briefing from only the UCAR side, the employees' lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan cried foul, claiming they hadn't entered their appearance in the case because of alleged gamesmanship by UCAR.