Judge explains Papermaster decision

 

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By Simon Aughton

Posted on 26 Nov 2008 at 16:28

Mark Papermaster will inadvertently draw upon knowledge he picked up at IBM when he moves to Apple, according to the judge presiding over his case.

Papermaster was formerly vice president of IBM's Blade Development unit, but ditched Big Blue to join as Apple's new iPod boss. The move was immediately contested by IBM, which claimed Papermaster signed a non compete in 2006, preventing him from moving to a competitor for a year.

Papermaster defied the suit to take up his role, but was ordered by the courts to stop working. Now the judge who made that judgement has explained why.

"It is likely that Mr. Papermaster inevitably will draw upon his experience and expertise in microprocessors and the 'Power' architecture, which he gained from his many years at IBM, and which Apple found so impressive, to make sure that the iPod and iPhone are fitted with the best possible microprocessor technology and at a lower cost," says Judge Kenneth Karas in newly released court papers,

"Put another way, what other base of technical know-how could Mr. Papermaster draw upon to perform his new and important job?"

Karas concluded that while he bears no ill-will against Papermaster, he finds "that the likely inevitability of even inadvertent disclosures is sufficient to establish a real risk of irreparable harm to IBM."

After Karas granted IBM's injunction, Papermaster filed a countersuit, arguing that his non-compete agreement with IBM is unenforceable. If IBM wins its case, he will have to wait a year before joining Apple.