Amazon Sues Former AWS VP Over Non-Compete Deal (geekwire.com)

Reader joshtops shares a report: Amazon.com is alleging that one of its former high-ranking executives violated a non-compete agreement when he accepted a job at Bellevue-based Smartsheet, GeekWire has learned. In a lawsuit filed Friday in King County Superior Court, Amazon alleges that Gene Farrell, who served as Vice President of the AWS Enterprise Applications -- EC2 Windows team, violated a non-compete agreement when he took the new job as head of product June 1 at the heavily-funded Bellevue online workplace collaboration platform. "This move is unthinkable," Amazon wrote in a motion for a temporary restraining order that would bar Farrell from working at Smartsheet. "he cannot possibly forget everything he knows about AWS's products and plans while he is working to develop products for its competitor." The suit also notes: "Farrell's role as "Head of Product" at Smartsheet will necessarily involve development of and strategy regarding competing cloud-based productivity products, including but not limited to those for project management, collaboration, and/or automation, and will therefore breach the Noncompetition Agreement and threaten the disclosure of Amazon's highly confidential information," Amazon wrote in its lawsuit.

Comments

So this means...

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

We're seeing Google's "GCP" start to eat into Amazon's cloud solutions, and we know Microsoft believes Azure and Office 365 are peas in a pod. Does this mean that Amazon was planning to fight back with some kind of "Amazon Docs" solution?

Re:Non-Compete Deal should be full pay and full be

[houghi]

In Belgium these things are great to have.
I had one. The moment I was let go, they signed of that it was not valid anymore. Why? Because if they would not have, they would have had to pay me the amount agreed upon.

All I had to do was file a suit saying that I was unable to go after a job at the competition and they would have to pay me out, regardless if I actually wanted a job or that I was going for a job at none of the competitors.
It would not even matter if I got fired or if I left.

As always: ask a real lawyer that is specialized in this stuff in your jurisdiction, because it can make you a LOT of money or not.

The best moment to do this if you retire. Then there is no risk with future employers who won't hire you. Also look if it is legal, because below a certain pay grade in Belgium it isn't. So you can still go work for the competition and they can't do anything and if you go work elsewhere, they still have to pay you.

Again: talk to a specialized lawyer that is not related to your company. So not the people that do your salary. They work for the company, not for you. Also not your bookkeeper. Only talk to your Union if you are unable to find a lawyer, because it is very likely you talk to somebody who does not know the details and will give you the wrong info, resulting in you not getting the money you should or paying a LOT.