Ex-IBM executive Mark Papermaster must object in a court filing today over IBM’s decision to block his move to Apple if the legal process is to move ahead.
US Federal District Judge Kenneth Karas ordered that Papermaster must "cease his employment" at Apple for the time being after he granted IBM's preliminary injunction.
The Ex-IBM executive may be entitled to seek financial compensation if it's determined that he was unjustly barred from his position at Apple reports Internetnews.com.
Judge Karas has scheduled a status conference for 18 November "at which it will discuss, and encourages the parties to discuss beforehand, an expedited schedule for discovery and trial."
In his court filings, Papermaster called the Apple job a "once in a lifetime" opportunity that does not relate to his work at IBM.
"Nothing about his new role will implicate any trade secrets of IBM," Papermaster claimed. "Apple and IBM are not even competitors; IBM's business is focused on large 'enterprise' applications for businesses, whereas Apple's is based on consumer electronics."
IBM claims that Papermaster has knowledge of “significant and highly confidential IBM trade secrets” that would “irreparably harm” the company if he is allowed to work for Apple. Papermaster also signed a noncompetition agreement in 2006 pledging not to work for competitors for one year after the conclusion of his employment with IBM.
Meanwhile Apple has removed Mark Papermaster’s personal biography from their website although a copy is still visible from Google's cache.
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ORE said on Tue, 11 Nov 2008
A sad day when IBM can no longer compete. From an IBM lifer, now retired....
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