Microsoft Prevents former employee from working for Google
First round to Microsoft action against Google
Microsoft has won the first round in its legal action against Google, which restraints order to keep Microsoft employee Dr. Kai-Fu Lee from defecting to Google temporarily.
Washington superior court judge Steven Gonzalez accepted Microsoft’s request for a temporary restrained order preventing any leakage of trade secrets.
The judge prohibits Kai-Fu Lee from working on search technologies, business strategies, planning or development which relates to the computer search market in China, as well as any other areas he has worked in while employed at Microsoft. Lee is, also, not allowed to attempt for inducement to Microsoft employees to leave the company and work for any competitor, including Google.
It has also ordered Microsoft to post $1 million as security for the other side’s legal costs if the case goes Google’s way. The next hearing in the matter is slated for September 6 for Google to argue why the restraining order should be lifted.
Lee and Google are required to return to Microsoft any documents they may have in connection with Lee’s work for Microsoft, and can’t destroy any documents related to Lee’s work for Microsoft or Google.
Google denied that Lee had disclosed Any Microsoft secrets ever and now it has decided to file a counter lawsuit against his former employer. It said that As he is not an expert in search technology so he had only limited involvement in Microsoft’s Chinese operations.