Google has asked a court to throw out a lawsuit brought
by Microsoft aimed at preventing it from hiring a former Microsoft
vice-president to head its new research centre in
China.
Microsoft claims that Kai-Fu Lee, who was originally hired in
China and then brought to the US, has broken a confidentiality
clause concerning trade secrets and a “non-compete” clause by
moving to Google, which Microsoft deems to be a competitor.
Microsoft is also suing Google for hiring him in the first
place.
Microsoft said Lee knew too much about Microsoft’s search
technologies and its strategy for China to be allowed to move to
Google.
In the past Microsoft has successfully used non-compete clauses
to stop former employees from moving to rivals.
But Google has asked a California court to throw out Microsoft’s
claim as an attempted restriction of trade.
While Californian courts in the past have overturned non-compete
contracts, Microsoft brought its action in its home state of
Washington, whose courts haven’t previously taken the same
view.
With the launch of MSN Search, Microsoft is now competing more
directly against Google than ever.