Microsoft opened a lawsuit Tuesday against Google and a former Microsoft executive that the search giant had hired to run its China operations.
The suit was filed in a Washington state court against Google and Kai-Fu Lee, former corporate vice president of Microsoft"s Interactive Services Division. "Today Microsoft filed a lawsuit against a former executive and Google regarding breach of Microsoft"s employee confidentiality and non-compete agreement," Microsoft spokeswoman Stacy Drake said in an e-mail. "We are asking the court to require Dr. Lee and Google to honor the confidentiality and non-competition agreements he signed when he began working for Microsoft."
Google has emerged as a top rival for Microsoft, and several notable employees have left the software giant for Google in recent months. The company is seen as an aggressive rival to Microsoft in areas including desktop search and e-mail, and the fact that its services work well with any operating system. Earlier Tuesday, Google announced Lee"s hiring and its plans to open a China research and development center this quarter.