| By Maureen O'Gara |
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| November 17, 2008 05:47 PM EST |
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2,303 |
Mark Papermaster, the ex-VP of blade development at IBM and the guy that IBM stopped from going to Apple to run its iPod and IPhone development on the strength of the non-compete he signed, has sued his former master looking for a declaratory judgment in his favor.
His suit says Apple and IBM aren’t significant competitors and that a strict construction of the “unreasonably broad” non-compete would basically stop him from “going to work for any company in any capacity anywhere in the world” if it competes with IBM the least little bit.
It also – and most importantly – challenges the jurisdiction of the New York federal court where IBM got the preliminary injunction ordering Papermaster not to work at Apple.
Although the non-compete is supposed to be governed by New York law, Papermaster says he has nothing to do with New York. He’s worked for IBM in Texas for the last 17 years and is going to work for Apple in California, both states that hold that non-compete are “unenforceable as a matter of public policy.”
The non-compete would sideline Papermaster for a year if enforced.
If IBM pursues the case and the injunction doesn’t stand it’ll lose the $3 million bond it was told to post to cover Papermaster’s costs and damages.
Maureen O'Gara the most read technology reporter for the past 20 years, is the Cloud Computing and Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media. She is the publisher of famous "Billygrams" and the editor-in-chief of "Client/Server News" for more than a decade. One of the most respected technology reporters in the business, Maureen can be reached by email at maureen(at)sys-con.com or paperboy(at)g2news.com, and by phone at 516 759-7025.
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