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Technology Stocks : Intel Corporation (INTC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: rudedog who wrote (100996)	3/17/2000 1:18:00 PM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Intel sues Broadcom over hiring practices ebnews.com By Mark Hachman Electronic Buyers' News (03/16/00, 08:27:11 PM EST) Intel Corp. has sued Broadcom Corp. for unfair competition and the alleged theft of trade secrets, an Intel spokesman confirmed today. Intel filed the suit in a San Jose Superior Court March 7. "The basis for the action is what we believe to be a systematic effort to recruit our employees in order to gain access to our trade secrets," the spokesman said from Intel's headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif. "We are not seeking to block these employees from working, we just don't want them in positions where they would be forced to use our confidential information," he added. In an interview, Henry T. Nicholas III, president and chief executive of Broadcom, Irvine, Calif., said the suit was without merit and that it stemmed from an argument of "inevitable disclosure." Under that argument, a worker can't help but reveal trade secrets and other confidential information in the course of performing duties associated with a new job. However, Nicholas noted, the former Intel employees named in the suit haven't begun work at Broadcom and have not revealed any secrets. Although the Intel spokesman did not specify what information could be used against it, similar cases have involved details concerning an employee's job title and salary. Armed with such information, recruiters could theoretically lure employees away from the original company with the promise of raises and promotions. The San Jose court issued a preliminary restraining order March 10 barring Broadcom from using such confidential information against Intel. Broadcom has been sued before under similar pretenses by both Rockwell Corp. and Sarnoff Corp. Broadcom prevailed in both cases, Nicholas said. "It's a case of people not being able to pursue their dreams," he said. "Men and women with that kind of talent should be free to look elsewhere for employment. Slavery's not legal in the U.S., last time I checked." In any event, Nicholas said his company's hiring practices are entirely legal, and that it has a right to seek out "world-class" talent. Aside from the suit, Nicholas added, Broadcom has a good working relationship with Intel. The complaint specifically notes that the employees involved were developing Gigabit Ethernet products for Intel, he said.