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July 29, 2005

Trade Secrets Prevent Job Hopping

A temporary restraining order prevents a previous employee of Microsoft from doing the same job for his new employer, Google. The stated reason for this drastic move is trade secret protection. According to an AP article at Forbes, the order will stand until a hearing on September 6.

Apparently, the employee had signed confidentiality and noncompetition agreements with Microsoft. However, it is unclear whether working for Google is necessarily a violation of these agreements. I'm sure this dispute will prove to be interesting in the months to come.

UPDATE 7-29-2005: Apparently Google has taken action: "Google retaliated Thursday with its own complaint in California seeking to override Microsoft's noncompete provision so it can retain Lee. In its suit, Mountain View-based Google contends the clause violates California laws giving workers the right to change jobs." See this findlaw article for more information.

Posted by Melody Wirz at 11:31 AM.
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