Papermaster Counter Sues IBM….. Things Are About To Get Interesting…

Mark Papermaster whom you’ll recall from a previous post was tapped by Apple to run the iPod and iPhone division until IBM sued to stop that from happening, is now counter suing IBM. Information Week spotted the filing late last week and has observed that IBM is out of bounds in terms of trying to stop him from working for Apple because they don’t compete with each other :

“IBM primarily provides business enterprise services, while Apple’s primary business is the design, manufacturing and marketing of consumer products,” Papermaster claims.

Wait, there’s more:

“Papermaster also claims that the agreement is invalid because it’s meant to apply to work performed in New York State. Papermaster was employed at IBM facilities in Texas and is moving to a California-based company. “Both states hold that such noncompetition agreements are unenforceable as a matter of public policy,” Papermaster argues.”

I have to admit that this was not a plot twist I expected. What I did expect is Apple sending in the iLawyers, not Papermaster taking matters into his own hands. But it should prove interesting to see how long this drags on before somebody pays to make this go away.

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