A US state judge, ruling in a case that exposed the behind-the-scenes animosity between two high-tech titans, said a former Microsoft Corp executive may begin working at Google Inc in China in a limited capacity.
King County Superior Court Judge Steven Gonzalez said on Tuesday a noncompete agreement Kai-fu Lee (
Lee remains barred from doing work on products, services or projects he worked on at Microsoft, including computer search technology, pending a trial set for January.
Although Lee cannot set budget or compensation levels or define the research that Google will do in China, Gonzalez said, he can hire people to work there.
"The importance of this is that it allows me to do my job. Starting today, I'm going to walk into Google and start work," Lee said.
In an interview on Tuesday night, Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said the company was pleased with the restrictions and that it would end all litigation in the case if Google and Lee agree to abide by the judge's order until next July, when the noncompete agreement expires.
"We can settle this lawsuit tomorrow," Smith said. "We can get back to ... competing in the marketplace."
Google did not immediately return a call seeking comment on Smith's statement.
Brad Keller, Lee's lawyer, said he had seen no formal settlement offer and would not discuss the terms Microsoft proposed.
"Dr. Lee and Google went to court seeking permission for Dr. Lee to go and establish a research and development facility in China. They prevailed. If Microsoft wants to settle the case, it should make a settlement proposal. Until then, Dr. Lee's going to China," Keller said.
The trial in January is expected to more fully determine the rights that Lee and the companies have under the noncompete agreement. By the time the trial arrives, that restriction will only be in effect for another six months.
In Tuesday's ruling, the judge also said Lee had misled Microsoft about his future with the company and determined he had provided some assistance to Google while he was still a Microsoft employee. That finding is significant because, at trial, Microsoft is seeking damages from Lee.
Lee, who has worked at Microsoft since 2000 and oversaw development of its MSN Internet search technology, including desktop search software rivaling Google's, left in July to lead Google's expansion into China.
Microsoft sued Lee and Google, contending that Lee's job at Google would violate the terms of a noncompete agreement, which prohibits him from doing similar work for a rival for one year. Microsoft also accused Lee of using insider information to get his job at Mountain View, California-based Google.
Google has responded with its own lawsuit against Microsoft in US District Court in San Jose, California.
The case has illuminated the bitterness between Microsoft and Google, which is emerging as a formidable competitor to the Redmond, Washington-based software behemoth. Testimony suggested that Microsoft executives responded with profanities when they learned of employees defecting to Google.
Google said it hired Lee to create an engineering office in China. But Lee is also an expert in computer recognition of language -- an important field for search engines such as Google.
In a hearing last week, Microsoft asked Gonzalez to restrict the work Lee could do until the January trial. Google had agreed to keep Lee from working on search technology or language recognition, but Microsoft said the promise wasn't good enough. Microsoft sought a judge's order and a ban on recruiting as well.
Google wants Lee to help pick a site for the China facility and begin using his connections there to recruit students and software engineers.
In China, companies recruit students in the fall to begin work the following summer. Had Lee been barred from recruiting this fall, he would have missed the recruiting season and would have had to wait until next fall, Google said.
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