Google And Microsoft Settle Bitter Lawsuit

Google said today that it has settled the lawsuit brought by Microsoft in July to enforce a noncompetition agreement against Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, a former Microsoft executive who left the company to work for Google.

In a prepared statement, Lee, president of engineering, product and public affairs for Google China, said, "I am pleased with the terms of the settlement agreement."David Drummond, Google's VP of corporate development and general counsel, said, "Microsoft, Dr. Lee, and Google have reached an agreement that settles their pending litigation. The parties have entered into a private agreement that resolves all issues to their mutual satisfaction. The terms of the agreement are confidential and all parties have agreed to make no other statements to the media regarding it. We are pleased with the terms of the settlement agreement."

Sadly, that means no more reports of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer hurling chairs.

In September, Microsoft won an injunction limiting the scope of the activities Lee could pursue during the one-year noncompetition period. A trial had been set for Jan. 9.