Microsoft, Google reach mutual agreement over Lee issue

Microsoft, Google reach mutual agreement over Lee issue

SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft Corp and Google Inc announced on Thursday that they had agreed to settle pending litigation over a former Microsoft employee, Kai-Fu Lee's decision to shift his allegiance to Google.

Lee was supposed to head the Mountain View, Calif-based Company's Chinese research wing, but Microsoft had filed a case questioning his right to shift over to Google. On Thursday, Redmond announced that all the concerned parties had reached a mutual agreement.

Lee was hired by Google in July and the whole issue promised to get ugly as court documents showed that Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer swore to kill Google, "I'm going to... bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I'm going... to kill Google," Ballmer had reportedly said of Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt. Subsequently he had claimed that the whole issue was a "gross exaggeration."

Under the current agreement, Lee is free to shift over to Google, but Microsoft has apparently vowed to fight it out if outside companies pursue top Redmond executives. "Microsoft, Dr. Lee and Google have reached an agreement that settles their pending litigation," Microsoft said in a statement.

It added that all the three concerned parties had "entered into a private agreement that resolves all issues to their mutual satisfaction." The company also said that both Google and it would not be making any further statements on the deal. A Google spokesman was not available for comment. The case was all set to be argued in a Washington court in the New Year, but this mutual agreement now nullifies it.

Microsoft had alleged that Lee had violated a non-compete agreement signed with it. In response, Google also had filed a separate suit in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California. Lee had been allowed to start the Chinese effort for Google, but a Judge had placed some conditions before him. He had told the court that he had decided to move to Google, since he was frustrated by Microsoft's approach to the Chinese market.