Page 2 of 2
"Hurd cannot separate out HP's trade secrets and confidential information in performing his daily duties at Oracle," HP alleges.
As a results of these breaches of contract, HP alleges, "HP is threatened with losing customers, technology, its competitive advantage, its trade secrets and goodwill in amounts which may be impossible to determine."
HP's reaction to Hurd's move is similar to storage rival EMC's reaction to HP's hiring of David Donatelli in April 2009.
HP hired Donatelli, who at the time was president of EMC's Storage division responsible for the EMC storage platforms and related software businesses, to run its enterprise server and storage business.
HP eventually agreed that Donatelli, now HP's executive vice president and general manager for enterprise servers, storage and networking, would initially not be involved in HP's storage business to allay fears that Donatelli would improperly compete against his former employer.
One HP solution provider, who requested anonymity, said HP's lawsuit won't stand.
"[California] is a right to work state," the solution provider said. "This is about delaying the inevitable. This is about delaying and limiting the things that Mark will be allowed to do."
The solution provider said the relationship between HP and Oracle will look more and more like the intense rivalry between HP and Cisco.
"So here's a question for you: How many enemies can you have before it starts affecting your business?" the solution provider said. "Don't be surprised if HP stock doesn't drop further as people think this through."
HP, in a statement not attributed to any particular executive, wrote in a blog post, "Mark Hurd agreed to and signed agreements designed to protect HP's trade secrets and confidential information. HP intends to enforce those agreements."
HP and Oracle executives were not available to discuss the lawsuit.
<< Previous
|
1
|
2
