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Google seeks to stop Microsoft from suing new hire

Google asked a California judge to invalidate a non-compete agreement central to Microsoft Corp.'s lawsuit against a former vice president hired to head Google's new research center in China.

In a filing to the California Superior Court in Santa Clara County, Google (GOOG) claims that the non-compete emloyment provision signed by Kai-Fu Lee while he worked for Microsoft (MSFT) was "overreaching and unlawful".

Microsoft sued Lee earlier this week in its home state of Washington, alleging he violated his confidentiality and non-compete agreements by agreeing to take the job with Google.

Google, the No. 1 Web search provider, is a growing competitor to Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker.

At the same time, Microsoft is attacking Google in the Internet search arena.

Microsoft tapped Lee in 1998 to establish a research and development center in Beijing. He later moved to Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, to become the company's vice president responsible for developing speech recognition and other interactive technologies for computers.

"It's about intimidation pure and simple. Their actions in trying to prevent Dr. Lee from joining Google is clearly an illegal restraint of trade," Nicole Wong, Google's associate general counsel told Reuters in a telephone interview.

The state of California, where Google has its headquarters, has a policy against non-compete contracts that seek to restrain employees from choosing where they want to work in California.

The Google vs. Microsoft War is Heating Up Early.

Can you imagine the legal rift awaiting two Direct Competitors when Google release the GBrowser!