Stardate 20011003.0428 (On Screen): A top Amazon executive, Christopher Zyda, has been hired away by eBay, and Amazon is suing to prevent him from taking the job on the basis of him having had access to a great deal of proprietary information about Amazon's business. This actually comes down to a simple question: Was there a "non-compete" agreement in Zyda's employement contract with Amazon? If so, they have a case. If not, they can get stuffed.
Absent a specific contractual limitation to the contrary, Zyda has the right to work for whomever he wants to, and Amazon doesn't have any right whatever to prevent that. If, later, it can be demonstrated that some of his knowledge of Amazon's operations have been used by eBay then they would have grounds for a suit, but for the moment we have to assume that he will not violate confidentiality. Most professionals have this kind of knowledge and the vast majority of us honor the confidentiality of former employers as a matter of professional honor. Amazon's suit is perilously close to defamation of character; they're saying ahead of time that they think he's going to engage in unsavory business practices even though so far there isn't any demonstration of that. (discuss)
