Abstract

Two of the leading manufacturers of high-end mobile phones, Motorola, Inc. (Motorola) and Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM), had entered into an agreement in February 2008, whereby the two companies had agreed not to poach each other’s employees. In September 2008, Motorola sued RIM and claimed for damages accusing the latter of poaching 40 of its employees in Florida. In December, RIM counter-sued Motorola accusing the company of illegally preventing it from hiring employees who had been fired from Motorola though the original agreement between the two companies had expired in August 2008. While experts are still divided on whether talent poaching is ethical, there has been a steep increase in employee poaching lawsuits across all sectors as employers are concerned with protecting their trade secrets.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

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Keywords

Business Ethics, ethics, Hiring, Poaching, Layoff, law, non-compete, non-disclosure, RIM, Motorola