A Washington state court judge said he would issue a ruling Tuesday in the US on whether former Microsoft executive Kai-Fu Lee will be allowed to immediately begin setting up a China development center for Google.
Google has asked a federal judge in California to rule that Kai-Fu Lee's contract with Microsoft is unenforceable and that the researcher should be allowed to join Google unfettered by the terms of his employment deal.
In a likely effort to remove local bias in favour of Google, Microsoft is attempting to shift Google's countersuit in the Kai-Fu Lee case from a California court to federal court.
Losing the services of Kai-Fu Lee for the rest of this year would have a profound effect on Google's recruiting efforts in China, the search engine company has argued in its legal battle with Microsoft.
Tuesday's preliminary court ruling in the battle over Dr Kai-Fu Lee has been welcomed by Google.
The search giant is on a hiring tear. In its most recent quarter, which ended Sept. 30, Google added 800 employees, bringing its global work force to 4,989. That's more than triple the total from just two years ago.
Ten years ago, Microsoft executives worried that an Internet platform could threaten Windows. The nightmare now has a name: Google.
Machines that listen and talk like humans are becoming a reality, researchers and tech executives say.
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