Microsoft, Oracle and several animation companies are filing their first briefs in the latest legal battle over non-poaching agreements, say reports.
The companies are facing allegations of anticompetitive conduct by colluding to agree to not hire each others’ employees, which kept salaries unfairly low, plaintiffs argue.
The case is the third major wave in non-poaching litigation in the past two years. Several months ago Google, Apple, Adobe and Intel settled non-poaching claims for $324.5 million; that case is ongoing, however, as US District Judge Lucy Koh denied acceptance of the offer, arguing it was too low for Silicon Valley employees. The companies appealed her decision and the matter is currently at the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Last year, Pixar Animation, Lucasfilm and Intuit settled their own non-poaching claims for $20 million.
Now, however, Microsoft is looking to distance itself from being grouped into what some claim is a conspiracy between technology companies to keep wages low. A lawyer for Microsoft filed a brief Monday claiming “nothing…suggests this ‘overarching conspiracy’ included Microsoft.”
Similarly, Oracle has denied involvement in such collusion. “Oracle was deliberately excluded from all prior litigation filed in this matter because all the parties investigating the issue concluded that there was absolutely no evidence that Oracle was involved,” the company’s Vice President Deborah Hellinger said last month.
Full content: The Recorder
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Justice Department Moves to End NCAA Transfer Rule
May 30, 2024 by
CPI
Kenya’s Competition Authority Proposes Tougher Regulations on Big Tech
May 30, 2024 by
CPI
KKR Secures EU Antitrust Approval for $24 Billion Acquisition of Telecom Italia’s Fixed-Line Network
May 30, 2024 by
CPI
European Court Sides with Tech Giants in Italian Regulatory Dispute
May 30, 2024 by
CPI
US Steel and Nippon Steel Secure International Approvals for $14.9B Merger
May 30, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Merger Guidelines Retrospective
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
Mergers of Complements
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
Personality Traits, Private Equity, and Merger Analysis
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
The 2023 Merger Guidelines: Lessons in the Importance of Incipiency, Modern Economics, and Monopsony
May 21, 2024 by
CPI
The 2023 Merger Guidelines: Sharpening Merger Analysis
May 21, 2024 by
CPI