Microsoft sues over Google hire
来源:互联网 发布:收费视频教程网站源码 编辑:程序博客网 时间:2024/04/30 15:52
Microsoft sues over Google hire
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
update Opening a new chapter in its rivalry with Google, Microsoft on Tuesday sued the search giant and a former Microsoft executive who has been tapped by Google to run its China operations.
The suit was filed in a Washington state court against Google and Kai-Fu Lee, who until Monday was the corporate vice president of Microsoft's Interactive Services Division.
Google said earlier Tuesday that Lee was joining the company and would head up a new research effort in China.
"Accepting such a position with a direct Microsoft competitor like Google violates the narrow non-competition promise Lee made when he was hired as an executive," Microsoft said in its lawsuit, which was seen by CNET News.com. "Google is fully aware of Lee's promises to Microsoft, but has chosen to ignore them, and has encouraged Lee to violate them."
In the suit, Microsoft seeks monetary damages as well as an injunction upholding the noncompete clause and other provisions of Lee's contract, including terms barring him from sharing Microsoft trade secrets.
Google has emerged as a top rival for Microsoft, and several notable employees have left the software giant for Google in recent months. The company is seen as an aggressive rival to Microsoft in areas such as desktop search and e-mail. In addition, its services work well with any operating system.
Google issued a press release on Lee's hiring and announced plans to open a China research and development center this quarter.
"Under the leadership of Dr. Lee, with his proven track record of innovation and his passion for technology and research, the Google China R&D center will enable us to develop more innovative products and technologies for millions of users in China and around the world," Alan Eustace, Google engineering vice president, said in a statement.
Lee and Longhorn
Lee, an expert in speech recognition technology, founded Microsoft's China research lab in the late 1990s and worked at Silicon Graphics Inc. and Apple Computer before joining Microsoft.
A Google representative was not immediately available to comment on Microsoft's legal actions.
Google's public touting that it had hired Lee is in and of itself unique. The company rarely announces new hires, with CEO Eric Schmidt's hiring being a notable exception.
Though workers leave tech companies for rivals all the time, it's not uncommon for a dispute to end up in court, particularly when an executive has a contract with a noncompete clause. Microsoft has turned to legal channels before to pursue former employees who it felt were unfairly competing against the company.
Notably, the company sued when former executive Tod Nielsen and a number of ex-Microsoft employees went to work for Crossgain, a start-up that was focused on allowing business applications to run over the Web.
Crossgain eventually disassociated itself from a number of Microsoft workers that were still bound to noncompete agreements. Among the other ex-Microsofties who were forced to step down, at least temporarily, were Nielsen and Adam Bosworth, a founder of Crossgain.
Crossgain was swallowed up by BEA Systems in 2001, with both Nielsen and Bosworth joining the software maker. The two left BEA last year, and Bosworth joined Google.
A Microsoft lawyer said in an interview that Lee's move to join Google was a "particularly egregious" violation of the noncompete agreement that he had signed when he joined Microsoft.
"He has access to sensitive information, to trade secrets about our search technology and business plans and our China business strategies," Deputy General Counsel Tom Burt told CNET News.com. "He has accepted a position in direct competition with Microsoft in those areas."
Lee had been working most recently at Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., headquarters, focusing on new search technologies. According to the lawsuit, for a time Lee had been the person "responsible for overall development of the MSN Internet search application." He also served as a member of a company advisory board that focused on China-related strategies, a post that, according to the suit, gave him access to the company's business strategy and planned expansion targets.
In the suit, Microsoft said that on July 5, Lee informed his department head, Eric Rudder, that he did not plan to return to Microsoft from a sabbatical and that he had talked with Google about heading up that company's China efforts.
Burt said that Microsoft was formally notified of Lee's plans Monday and that the company served him with legal papers later that day.
"There was no effort by Dr. Lee or Google to try and work out any kind of agreement," Burt said. "The combination of those factors meant that we really had no choice but to file this suit to protect our confidential information."
CNET News.com's Stefanie Olsen contributed to this report.
Track this story's companies and topics
Microsoft Corp Create alertSearchCreate alertWorkplaceCreate alertCreate your own e-mail alert >Related stories
- Google balances privacy, reach July 14, 2005
- Microsoft's personnel puzzle July 5, 2005
- Microsoft opens desktop search June 30, 2005
- Microsoft's Courtois targets Asia June 21, 2005
- Microsoft blocking words on China's Web? June 13, 2005
- Growing pains at Google? May 20, 2005
- Getting tough with China? May 20, 2005
- Clues may point to Google browser September 23, 2004
From News.com Extra
- Microsoft's new search engine may beat Google: Gates (AFP) from Yahoo! News
- Google This: Is Microsoft Still a Bully? from The New York Times
- Microsoft vs Google heats up from The Register
Related quotes (delayed 20+ minutes)
MSFT26.160.61(2.39%)Microsoft CorporationMore quotes >Related white papers
- Domain Footprinting for Web Applications and Web Services
net-square - Search Engine Marketing: Get in the Game
Fathom SEO - SEO: The Cost of Doing It Wrong
Medium Blue - Foundstone SiteDigger 2.0: Identifying Information Leakage Using Search Engines
Networks Associates Technology - The Marketer's Guide to Optimizing Your Web Content for Search Engines
Marqui
Related videos
Polese: "It's a condition of human existence" April 11, 2005
A miniature personal server hopes to land in mobile workers' pockets May 21, 2004
New search program from BlackBall claims speedier file finding May 17, 2004
TalkBack
Post a commentClick on a comment to explore replies (10 total replies - 10 NEW )
In the ring Anand Pillai -- Jul 19Pot calling the kettle black. Thomas Carley -- Jul 19hope Google didn't miss this one... Bodega Bay -- Jul 19GOOGLE SEARCH : MS COPIES Llib Setag -- Jul 19
.expromo {width:295px; margin:10px 0px; font-weight:bold; font-size:1em;} .expromo a {text-decoration:none; color:#000;} .expromo a:hover {text-decoration:none; color:#B23E3E;} #expromoBG {background:#FFF;padding:10px;margin:0px;} #exwidth {width:265px;}
- Coding misstep forces new Firefox release
- WinZip purchased by turnaround specialist
- Apple videos hint at film ambitions
- Online private eyes draw privacy complaints
- Windows flaw reaches beyond XP
- Oracle dragging heels on unfixed flaws, researcher says
- Amazon seeks votes for nonprofit award
- GuruNet announces name change, stock exchange
- Intel hit with chip tech lawsuits
- Gateway takes Staples to school
- Yahoo media group hits snags as managers quit
- Hackers get into USC database
- Notebooks fuel Intel profits
- European lawmakers mull Net policies
- Time for lawmakers to act on Grokster?
- Soccer-playing bots bask in world victory
- Earnings alert: Notebooks fuel Intel profits
- Yahoo profit rises, but revenue falls short
- Microsoft launches second BI beta
- eBay tightens rules for sellers
- Photos: Robot, giddyap!
- Photos: Bots score in soccer
- Photo: Indian techies seek stress relief
Media: ET blog home
Gadgets: Transfer drive data sans the PC
Apple: Widescreen iBook on the way?
Cellular: ICE your cellphone
- Microsoft sues over Google hire
- google vs microsoft
- Google Eyeing Microsoft Territory?
- google pk microsoft 到底谁更牛
- Microsoft和Google的神话
- 震撼:Google, Microsoft, Yahoo Maps
- Google & Microsoft经典面试题
- Microsoft Atlas Doc 中英文对照(Over View)
- How I Hire Programmers
- remotely work and hire
- New Hire Training Experience
- POJ2003 Hire and Fire
- Over
- OVER
- over
- over
- Search Microsoft-related sites using Google:
- 下一代Web的角逐-Microsoft Google Adobe
- 深入剖析C#继承机制
- 修身养性
- 怎样在.Net移动开发中获得手机号码或手机IMEI?
- 李开复博士离开微软、加盟Google!
- Google要到中国开分店了
- Microsoft sues over Google hire
- 使用集锦
- 影响网络应用程序性能的因素
- 六种编译模式概述
- 如何成長
- js弹出提示信息,然后跳转到另一页面
- 部分mm后台配置路径
- 转:想对天下为人父母者说一句
- 转贴:男人啊...