Imagine IBM’s surprise when, in February of this year, Federal Judge Loretta Preska denied it a preliminary injunction to halt competition by a former high-level employee. That individual, Giovanni Visentin, served on IBM’s Integration and Values Team (I&VT), “a leadership group that develops IBM’s corporate strategy,” and was General Manager of IBM’s Integrated Technology Services Division.

In January 2011, Visentin resigned from IBM to accept a senior position with Hewlett Packard. IBM sued to enforce the non-competition agreement Visentin signed that contained a one-year restriction against working for a competitor and sought a preliminary injunction.

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