Microsoft sued Lee and Google last week, claiming the former head of its Beijing research and development center had violated his employment contract by agreeing to take a job at Google.

Microsoft and Google are directly competing in Web search and also have begun competing for talented people.

Google plans to open a new facility in China later this year to develop new technologies and attract computer science researchers. A final location has not yet been chosen.

The world's largest software maker claimed Lee was privy to propriety information regarding the company's search technologies and business strategies in China.

While at Microsoft, Lee, a former Carnegie Mellon University researcher who previously worked for Apple Computer Inc., managed groups developing speech recognition and other interactive technologies for computers.

In granting a temporary restraining order requested by Microsoft, Gonzalez forbade Lee from working on Google projects or research relating to search technologies, natural language processing or speech technologies, and business strategies that would be "competitive" with fields he studied while at Microsoft.

A trial is scheduled for Jan. 9, 2006, although Google may contest the temporary restraining order in September.

Gonzalez also prohibited Lee from disclosing trade secrets or proprietary information learned while he was employed at Microsoft and it forbade Google from "attempting to induce" Microsoft employees to work for Google.

Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, said his legal team was trying to enforce the terms of Lee's contract rather than stopping his employment at Google altogether.

Source For Full Article : http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2005-07-29T050603Z_01_SP8067_RTRIDST_0_TECH-TECH-MICROSOFT-GOOGLE-DC.XML

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