Tuesday's preliminary court ruling in the battle over Dr Kai-Fu Lee has been welcomed by Google.
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.
A former Microsoft executive can immediately begin recruiting staff for a Google development centre in China, rather than waiting until after a January trial, a Washington state judge ruled on Tuesday.
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.
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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