IBM 3mil for Papermaster

Court filings indicate that a New York district judge has ordered IBM to put up a $3 million bond in its non-competition agreement case against Mark Papermaster. Because the court barred him from starting his new job, IBM must provide the money to ensure that he will recover all costs and damages if the injunction is found to be unjust. Papermaster's attorneys also had a chance to respond to the claims and file several counterclaims.

The defense takes several angles, with a primary argument that the two companies are not direct competitors, IBM focusing on enterprise products and Apple producing for consumers. The filing also suggests that Papermaster will not inevitably disclose trade secrets, and that he signed documents for the job at Apple that prohibit disclosure of confidential information from previous employers.

The counterclaims try to prove that the NCA is unenforceable and overbroad, effectively preventing him from taking practically any position in the tech industry, across the globe, for a whole year. In addition, he worked in Texas for IBM and will work in California for Apple. Although IBM headquarters is in New York, the lawyers feel that the case has no jurisdiction there. Texas and California law prohibits enforcement of NCA agreements.

The recent order requires IBM to file the bond by 5:00pm Friday. Further course of action will be decided at a status conference scheduled for Tuesday.

by MacNN Staff