Judge Orders Tony Fadell’s Replacement to Stop Work

[AppleChic]

A judge has ordered Apple’s new recruit, Mark Papermaster (a replacement for Tony Fadell) to halt any work he’d been performing for Apple due to a possible breach of contract with IBM.

Late this past Friday, US Federal District Judge Kenneth Karas ordered Mark Papermaster to "immediately cease" work until the court makes a decision as to whether or not his employment with Apple breaches the non-compete clause in his contract with IBM.

Papermaster has put in 25 years with IBM as a veteran engineer and now finds himself at the heart of a lawsuit by his former employer who’s going after Papermaster for taking a new position as head of Apple’s iPod and iPhone division.

IBM is attempting to enforce a non-compete contract Papermaster signed in 2006. Apple is believes the non-compete does not apply to their company and is trying to get around it.

Papermaster maintains that he does not know why IBM is pressing suit as he left the company on good terms and because IBM knew the position he was planning to take with Apple the whole time he worked with his former employer during his two weeks notice.

Apple and Papermaster's lawyers have already mounted a defense that argues that his heading the division handling the iPhone and iPod touch affords too small a scope to risk trade secrets being leaked. Papermaster’s lawyers also say that IBM’s non-compete s far too strict, and if Papermaster has to adhere to it that it would be "incredibly damaging" to his career.

IBM disagrees and says that Papermaster will be handling the same ARM chips, and this is too close for comfort. IBM continues to insist;

"Electronic devices large and small are powered by the same type of intelligence, the microprocessor,"

And so the drama continues… A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18.

Source: AppleInsider | Update: judge orders Apple's new mobile head to stop work

[KelvinalF]

wowwww

[pyromuffin]

You're like 3 days late.

[Carrbone]

IBM alil threatened by Apple? LOL.

That just goes to show you how apple has influenced the market and how bad the economy really is.

Companies are tryin to hold on to whatever they can in hopes of staying alive.

[atm_10142k]

IBM alil threatened by Apple? LOL.

That just goes to show you how apple has influenced the market and how bad the economy really is.

Companies are tryin to hold on to whatever they can in hopes of staying alive.

How does this make apple a bad company .

[dictionary]

How does this make apple a bad company .

You quite obviously didn't comprehend what he said. He said how bad the ECONOMY is, not Apple. Meaning .. the ECONOMY is so bad, that IBM is trying to keep Papermaster from going to Apple, so that Apple won't thrive, while they die.

Reading comprehension people. Reading comprehension.

[Kroke]

Pretty typical, sign it while the getting is good, then get a better/different job and then cry about what you had agreed to. I hope IBM wins this one. If he didn't fully understand what he signed, its his fault for not getting an attorney before signing

[iFokust]

Apple wants to develop their own chips in phones and computers.
that's what Papermaster was brought in to do.

[se23]

who cares?

[officespace]

any ideas on what papermaster's or fadell's salaries are/were?

[bluaeon]

You're like 3 days late.

and your point is?
some people do have jobs to keep so that they can pay their bills. they dont have the time to surf the web all the time too u know.

as for the topic: lets just hope that he comes over to apple and does something new to ipods and iphones.

[Carrbone]

and your point is?
some people do have jobs to keep so that they can pay their bills. they dont have the time to surf the web all the time too u know.

as for the topic: lets just hope that he comes over to apple and does something new to ipods and iphones.

are u kidding?

IBM isnt exactly on the cutting edge of innovation-

They havent been big in the consumer market since like 95' when they were selling Aptiva PC's-
I used to see the blue IBM logo on every comercial like 20 times a day.

Since then when have u heard of IBM creating anything worth while in the past 10 years?

I myself am kinda confused on what they contribute.. I believe they provide business solutions like servers, chipsets and whatnot. someone correct me if Im wrong...

I hope IBM wins and Apple doesnt get infected by that man and IBM's obvious lack of genius and innovation in the industry.

[Mourgne]

Kroke: I'm fairly certain that he probably saw what he signed, and he most likely looked at it with several attorneys... The debate isn't whether Papermaster should have to follow his contract, its actually about finding to what extent the non compete clause applies.

officespace: Why do you care what their salaries are? So you can say "ha, they're already rich, so screw them?" Or so you can criticize them? that wont help anything and I find it very annoying when people ask that, since it gets no one anywhere that they should be.

anyway, i think that we should see what the courts say, but personally i think that apple wouldn't do anything that jeopardizes their operation legally.

[officespace]

officespace: Why do you care what their salaries are? So you can say "ha, they're already rich, so screw them?" Or so you can criticize them? that wont help anything and I find it very annoying when people ask that, since it gets no one anywhere that they should be.

I'm an EECS major and I need to decide what path to take (CS, Systems/Signals, Electronics), and I need to decide very soon. Salary isn't too important, but for someone who's interested in everything it does play a role...

Anyone?

[saifeeab]

are u kidding?

IBM isnt exactly on the cutting edge of innovation-

They havent been big in the consumer market since like 95' when they were selling Aptiva PC's-
I used to see the blue IBM logo on every comercial like 20 times a day.

Since then when have u heard of IBM creating anything worth while in the past 10 years?

I myself am kinda confused on what they contribute.. I believe they provide business solutions like servers, chipsets and whatnot. someone correct me if Im wrong...

I hope IBM wins and Apple doesnt get infected by that man and IBM's obvious lack of genius and innovation in the industry.

wht has one mans performance got to do with an overall lack of innovativeness and non-performance of a company like IBM? And the guy is not even at the management level. He is an engineer. And over the years IBM have shifted their focus to mainframes & servers where they are still quite good. So dont jump to cunclusions about a mans genius or your lack of it otherwise Apple wouldn't be so desperate in hiring him.

[pyromuffin]

wht has one mans performance got to do with an overall lack of innovativeness and non-performance of a company like IBM? And the guy is not even at the management level. He is an engineer. And over the years IBM have shifted their focus to mainframes & servers where they are still quite good. So dont jump to cunclusions about a mans genius or your lack of it otherwise Apple wouldn't be so desperate in hiring him.

Who said apple was desperate to hire this guy? I'm sure they've got someone else lined up to fill his shoes if the deal doesn't go through.

[dale1v]

I hope IBM wins and Apple doesnt get infected by that man and IBM's obvious lack of genius and innovation in the industry.

No. Apple is a business (like any other) that selectively employs people and looks to expand; they don't "get infected".

Lack of genius...No. The man must obviously have some pretty big skills under his belt if he's been selected by Apple to be "Senior Vice president of Devices Hardware Engineering".
Apple aren't the only company that have smart people.
IBM has lack of innovation? But wait, the iPods (built by Apple) over the past few years haven't exactly been innovative...

Name one tech company where by employing people, their technology
actually goes backwards in time. Uhhhhh

IF the man gets the job, I doubt you will see any change in the direction of where the company is going, which is what you seem to think.

[jayson9]

As a current IT engineer who has signed non-competes in the past, I think they suck! They are typically used to keep employees from moving from company to company. This ensures that a "valued" employee does not want to wonder if the grass is greener on the other side. To me, this should be all decide by trade-mark and patents, not by whether or not the person containing some knowledge is capable of thinking of a "new" design, with the knowledge or understanding of the "old".

It just plain stupid and mindless to keep people form advancing their careers just because they have some knowledge, understanding, or participation in a another companies products or government agency. Alot of IT engineers would be out of jobs, if that were the case. And technology would become stagnant to boot!

[mgamber]

It doesn't matter if they suck or not. You don't HAVE to sign a non-compete. No one holds a gun to anyone's head and says sign or die. And if you DO sign it, the company can (and probably should) pursue the matter if you jump ship for any reason. I've signed them before and I've also NOT signed them before. When I have signed them, I've upheld my end of them. It doesn't make me better than anyone or morally superior, it makes me EMPLOYABLE. In the current economy, it may well make the difference between having a job and getting an unemployment check. I'm tired of this free ride crap. If this guy was so good, he could probably have easily gotten away with not signing a non-compete and this wouldn't even be an issue. Or he could have gone somewhere else instead of signing it when they pushed it in front of him. Instead, he chose to sign it and then go work for the competition in violation of the contract. Screw 'em, I don't care where he worked and where he wants to work, my sympathy meter is at zero all around.

[jayson9]

It doesn't matter if they suck or not. You don't HAVE to sign a non-compete. No one holds a gun to anyone's head and says sign or die. And if you DO sign it, the company can (and probably should) pursue the matter if you jump ship for any reason. I've signed them before and I've also NOT signed them before. When I have signed them, I've upheld my end of them. It doesn't make me better than anyone or morally superior, it makes me EMPLOYABLE. In the current economy, it may well make the difference between having a job and getting an unemployment check. I'm tired of this free ride crap. If this guy was so good, he could probably have easily gotten away with not signing a non-compete and this wouldn't even be an issue. Or he could have gone somewhere else instead of signing it when they pushed it in front of him. Instead, he chose to sign it and then go work for the competition in violation of the contract. Screw 'em, I don't care where he worked and where he wants to work, my sympathy meter is at zero all around.

Yes, I agree (to the obvious) that you do not have to sign them. And I too have also signed, scratched out lines, not signed.. etc. I have also been told that depending on whether or not you live in a right-to-work state makes a difference.

But, if you want the job, then you do whats asked. Just because an employer says you cannot apply for another "like" job is stupid, and should in no way keep you from continuing your career. Now, do I care if this guy gets hired or not, no. But, he shouldn't be kept from work just because he has knowledge or he has worked somewhere. Who's to say that he tells all of their secrets anyways. If he does, then sick the dogs on his @ss.... once you have evidence that he did!!!