November 3, 2008 by Matt Thomas
Computer giant IBM has turned to the courts in an attempt to prevent former executive Mark Papermaster from joining rival company Apple inc. The company has filed a legal suit, citing a non-compete agreement, signed by Papermaster, which they claim prevents him from taking a job with any rival company for one year after leaving IBM.
As a top executive, Papermaster had access to vital trade secrets and IBM intellectual property – the company are worried that his former association with IBM will harm their ability to compete with Apple.
There’s also a symbolic element to this switch that will trouble IBM. Papermaster worked as vice-president of the company’s Blade Development unit and is thought of as one of the leading lights of chip design. Losing him to such a close rival is pretty galling for the company, it also unquestionably weakens their Blade Development team.
The decision of the District Court in Manhattan will be important, not only for IBM and Apple, but also for the wider debate on issues like gardening leave and intellectual property in fast moving industries like computing.
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