Apple removes Papermaster bio from Web site
Apple has removed the biography of its future iPhone leader from the company Web site.
You can still find Apple's press release from last week announcing the hiring of Mark Papermaster on the site, but the brief bio once posted among those of Apple's other senior executives disappeared Monday. It's visible through the magic of Google's caching technology, should you want a look.
An Apple representative did not immediately return a call seeking comment as to why Papermaster's bio was pulled, but this in all likelihood is the result of the preliminary injunction preventing Papermaster from starting work at Apple. His former employer, IBM, is suing Papermaster in federal court in New York for violating the terms of a noncompete agreement, and the judge overseeing the case ordered Papermaster not to report for his first day running Apple's iPhone and iPod group.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
UPDATE: Here?s the conclusion from the ruling in Application Group, Inc. v. Hunter Group, Inc., 61 Cal.App.4th 881 (1998), a California non-compete clause case:
"We further conclude, in agreement with the trial court, that California law may be applied to determine the enforceability of a covenant not to compete, in an employment agreement between an employee who is not a resident of California and an employer whose business is based outside of California, when a California-based employer seeks to recruit or hire the nonresident for employment in California."
The case is filed in New York & Papermaster's lawyers are not contesting the venue (at this time).
- by mbenedict November 10, 2008 9:59 PM PST
- Two years ago unfortunately I found myself in the middle of a non-compete battle. A former employer (a very large enterprise) asked me to return and help wind-down a project. I wanted to leave my then-current job anyway, but had a 1-year non-compete clause.
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(4 Comments)In my industry (financial), there are certain niche tasks that certain people (like me) do. Basically it's a small world, we move from one company to another, and bump into the same set of people over and over again. So normally moving between competitors is not a problem; it happens all the time. Industry players "like to help each other" since its their best interest to do so.
But in this case, my then-current employer refused to sign a waiver. The company's Sr. Partner also threatened to sue both myself and the other company should I make the move anyway.
What incensed me was that this entire episode had nothing to do with "competition". Some ego was bruised that I was moving back to that particular company, and the Sr. Partner had some delusion that he could force me to stay by using the non-compete clause. It was a total abuse of the system.
Well I handed in my resignation. I didn't care if I couldn't return to my former employer, but I sure as hell wasn't staying. I felt like a pawn between the two companies. The battle didn't hurt either company, but cost me my job. And there was no way I could contest this in court by myself.
Soon thereafter, some discussions happened between the two companies, and I was "allowed" to make the move. I was never told what they agreed to. The company I returned to either paid some compensation, or threatened to cease business with the Sr. Partner, or both.