InsideGoogle

Google Wins Early Battle Vs. Microsoft

The judge in the case of Microsoft v. Google has ruled that Kai-Fu Lee can begin working for Google, even as the case slowly works its way through the court system. The Google blog is “thrilled” to announce it.

You may remember that in July, right after we hired Dr. Lee to build and head our new China R&D center, Microsoft sued both of us. They argued that Dr. Lee was going to do work at Google that was competitive with what he had been doing at Microsoft - which they said would violate the one-year non-compete agreement that Microsoft requires employees to sign. (They sued even before knowing what Dr. Lee was going to be doing here. Hmmm…) At first, the judge in the case decided temporarily to limit what work Dr. Lee could do at Google until he learned more about the dispute.

But after listening to evidence at a two-day hearing last week and reviewing various documents and court briefs, the judge decided today in his ruling on Microsoft’s request for a preliminary injunction to allow Dr. Lee to work on a much broader range of things for Google. There are some restrictions, but the ruling basically allows Dr. Lee to do what we’ve wanted him to be able to do. The judge said that Microsoft had “not sufficiently shown that it has a clear legal or equitable right to enjoin Dr. Lee, pending trial, from Establishing and Staffing a Google Development Facility Center.” A trial is still set for January to get a final decision.

Since when does Google comment publicly on controvertial news items? On a side note, I may be getting home late tonight, due to inclement weather. There are so many pigs flying outside that visibility on the roads is atrocious.

The next phase in this case is the hearing on Google’s countersuit, scheduled for October 14. Google notes that Dr. Lee has his own website.
(via ThreadWatch)

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For more on this case, here’s a rundown of all the stories on Microsoft v. Google.

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Here are some links on the case that I’ve been meaning to clear out of my aggregator:

Lee says Gates swore at him
A former Microsoft executive whose defection to Google set off a legal battle testified on Tuesday that an expletive-filled tirade from the chairman of Microsoft, Bill Gates, was a low point before he decided to leave.

Another Day of Google vs. Microzzzzzzz . . .
It seems that the hearings are further attenuating a case already stretched thin by tedious rhetoric.

Exec: Microsoft Bungled in China
Former Microsoft executive Kai-Fu Lee accused the software titan of incompetence in its plans to gain a business footing in China, and testified Tuesday that being yelled at by chairman Bill Gates was a low point of his career before he defected to rival Google.

Ruling in Microsoft, Google Case Expected
A Washington state judge said he would rule on Tuesday whether a top Microsoft executive who defected to rival Google Inc. can perform the job Google hired him for until his case goes to trial in January.

Google court hearing
While the case is, on the surface, about Lee’s non-compete clause, it’s also providing some interesting glimpses inside the Microsoft and Google executive suites. Today, for example, videotaped depositions were shown in court from Google’s Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt, and Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. Here’s a transcript from Microsoft of the excerpts that were shown: PDF

Google’s Rebuttal….
Well, it didn’t take long for Google to file a rebuttal to the injunction covered in my last post on this matter. The first quote (that was not redacted - both documents have been redacted by either Google or Microsoft to protect what the companies believe is confidential information, Microsoft has redacted far more than Google so far) Google uses to make a point at the top of the document is familiar:
“I’m going to F….g kill Google.” Steve Ballmer.

Google Lawsuit Exposes Microsoft Offshoring Deal
In more news from Microsoft’s Google lawsuit, it appears that Ballmer’s 2003 trip to China may have had as much to do with Microsoft moving jobs as selling software. It seems that the Chinese are not pleased with the number of jobs being moved to China, and one of Lee’s duties was to identify jobs for export. Although hiring in Redmond has slowed, a Microsoft spokesperson admits they are “growing their work force” in China.

And, of course, Scoble links to the Steve Ballmer chair-throwing game. I love it!

September 13th, 2005 Posted by Nathan Weinberg | Controversy, Microsoft, General | one comment