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Legal Arguments Can Hurt Tech Job Mobility
camelcai writes "Microsoft's suit against Kai-Fu Lee and Google is based off of the thought that in some circumstances people can't avoid sharing or relying on trade secrets from their former employer when moving to a competitor. In MS's filing it says: 'Lee's conduct threatens to disclose or Lee inevitably will disclose Microsoft's trade secrets to Google and/or others for his and/or Google's financial gain in the course of working to improve Google search products that compete with Microsoft, and in the course of establishing and building Google's presence in China to compete with Microsoft's efforts in China.' According to CNET, thanks to this increasingly popular legal argument, defectors might face a lawsuit even if they did not sign agreements not to compete or not to disclose confidential information."
Their argument is infuriating. Companies cannot be allowed to have that kind of power over individuals. That's like telling Randy Moss he has to play defence (or perhaps he can't play at all) in oakland because he played offence in minnesota. If you want to block Kai-Fu Lee from working for google, you should have to pay Lee an inconvenience fee for that veto because it isn't like Lee is the only person who wants to work for google. If you are going to block someone from taking one of the most sought after jobs in the IT world, you have to show Lee the money as compensation.
Did everyone hear that? Show Lee the money!!!
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