Papermaster
IBM settles; Papermaster to join Apple in April
January 27, 2009: 3:10 PM ET
In the end, they split it down the middle.
On Tuesday, International Business Machines (IBM) announced that it has resolved the lawsuit against a newly appointed senior vice president at Apple Inc. (AAPL) that was, for a brief moment last November, the hottest story in technology -- a bi-coastal drama that pitted one of the world's largest and most established computer companies against one of the brashest.
The case involved Steve Jobs' decision to hire Mark Papermaster, a 25-year IBM veteran, to replace Tony Fadell as head of the iPod/iPhone division. (Fadell, once considered a rising star in Cupertino, was said to be stepping down to devote more time to his family, according to Apple's press release.)
IBM complained loudly and litigiously, arguing in a 10-page complaint filed last October that Papermaster was "in the possession of significant and highly-confidential IBM trade secrets and know-how" -- secrets he was now in a position to deliver to a major competitor. The case rested on a noncompete agreement that Papermaster signed in 2006.
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IBM must put up $3 million in Papermaster case
IBM only had to pay a $350 filing fee to sue Mark Papermaster, the 25-year IBM (IBM) veteran hired by Steve Jobs last month to run Apple's (AAPL) iPod and iPhone division.
It's going to cost the company a lot more to pursue the case.
Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas granted Big Blue the preliminary injunction it sought -- based on a noncompetition clause signed in 2006 -- and ordered MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Nov 14, 2008 11:54 AM ET -
Apple's Papermaster was misquoted
Mark Papermaster must know how Barack Obama, John McCain and, for that matter, Sarah Palin feel when they get shafted by the press.
The 25-year IBM veteran engineer is in the middle of a nasty civil case in which his former employer has sued to stop him from taking a new position in Steve Jobs' inner circle as head of Apple's iPod and iPhone division.
IBM (IBM) is trying to enforce a MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Nov 9, 2008 11:28 AM ET
