Ubisoft Gets Restraining Order In EA Non-Compete Battle

Posted by simoniker on Monday October 13, 2003 @06:48PM from the splintered-ego dept.

Thanks to GameSpot for their report that Ubisoft has won the current round in a battle against EA and its alleged 'poaching' of Ubisoft Canada's employees. According to the article, "The Quebec Court of Appeals upheld Ubisoft's temporary restraining order that sought to prevent four former Ubisoft employees hired by Electronic Arts Montreal from working while a larger case is litigated." The piece goes on to explain: "That larger case accuses the four former Splinter Cell developers with violating non-compete clauses allegedly signed when they first took up employment at Ubisoft."

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Who's the good guy? by ctr2sprt · 2003-10-13 18:57 · Score: 3, Informative

I'm definitely split on this one. I'm definitely not a fan of non-compete clauses since they can really make it impossible to get another job in your chosen field. But obviously companies should have the right to keep employees from quitting and stealing ideas/products at the same time.
So are Ubisoft the good guys, keeping the four defectors from giving trade secrets to EA? Or are Ubisoft the bad guys, trying to fuck over innocent guys for the unbearable crime of not wanting to work for Ubisoft? And more importantly, is there some better way out there of balancing the rights of employees with the rights of companies?