Chicago (IL) - IBM is determined to move forward with legal proceedings in an effort to block one of his former top executives from getting a key position at Apple. Since a court blocked Mark Papermaster's new job appointment at IBM's request, both parties will now set a bond by IBM to ensure either party can be compensated if the injunction is later found unjust or improper. This move will enable Papermaster to seek financial compensation from IBM if the court determines that he was unjustly barred from his position at Apple.

The standoff between Apple and IBM over ex-IBM semiconductor executive Mark Papermaster, who was hired by Apple to lead its Devices Hardware Engineering segment, has entered a new phase. U.S. Federal District Judge Kenneth Karas ordered Papermaster to immediately cease his employment with Apple last week, the window of opportunity for the executive to object to IBM's move is closing today. Karas also scheduled a November 18 status conference to "discuss, and encourage the parties to discuss beforehand, an expedited schedule for discovery and trial."

Internetnews.com reports that the ex-IBM executive may seek financial compensation from its former employer if the court determines he was unjustly barred from his position at Apple. Big Blue insists Papermaster has knowledge of "significant and highly confidential IBM trade secrets" that would  "irreparably harm" the company if he pursues his new job at Apple. Papermaster, who calls the job at Apple a "once in a lifetime opportunity" in his court filing, maintains that IBM is wrong. "Apple and IBM are not even competitors," he wrote. "IBM's business is focused on large 'enterprise' applications for businesses, whereas Apple's is based on consumer electronics."

Earlier today, Apple removed Papermaster’s executive profile from its PR site. The entire copy of the removed text was last revised earlier today and read: "Mark Papermaster is Apple's senior vice president of Devices Hardware Engineering. He leads the iPod and iPhone engineering teams, and reports directly to Apple's CEO.

Papermaster’s professional history includes 25 years of product and technology experience at IBM. Before leaving IBM, he was a vice president at the company responsible for blade development including x86, POWER, storage blades, chassis, network electronics and the associated ecosystem. He started his career in application-specific IC development circuit design at IBM’s Microelectronics Division, and had technical and management assignments in quality, CAD tool applications, and microprocessors.

ummmm ...

Nov 12, 2008 07:30     

now they own your for life? looks like IBM better be ready to NEVER lay any one off or fire them unjustly as they should pay fair comp to the end of their natural life so this will never happen again to them . . .
ahhh report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Not a competitor?

Nov 12, 2008 10:42     

They both make servers. While Mr. Papermaster may be going to work for a non-competing division of Apple, the corp as a whole does compete with IBM. Sorry buddy....this is why you signed a non-compete contract to begin with.
JC report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

Re; ummmm ...

Nov 13, 2008 10:49     

No, it was a 1 year non-compete. Typically non-compete agreements are 1-5 years depending on industry and position. They are VERY common in the technical industries. When I sold my business in 2007, I signed a 4 year non-compete with the new owner.
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