SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc. didn’t even get a full
day to revel in the launch of its new Google Wallet smartphone pay
service before eBay Inc. and its PayPal unit sued the online giant for
alleged stealing trade secrets for mobile payment systems.
The suit, which eBay and PayPal filed Thursday in the
Santa Clara Superior Court in San Jose, Calif., claims that Google and
two former PayPal employees created the Google payment system using
proprietary technology developed at PayPal.
The former PayPal executives, Osama Bedier and Stephanie Tilenius, were also named in the suit.
Bedier is Google’s vice president of payments and
joined the company in January after working as vice president of
platform, mobile and new ventures at PayPal. Tilenius is vice president
of commerce at Google and joined the company in late 2009.
In an blog posting announcing the suit, Amanda Piers,
PayPal’s senior director of global communications, said, “Sometimes the
behaviors of people and competitors make legal action the only
meaningful way for a company to protect one of its most valuable assets —
its trade secrets.”
In the lawsuit, PayPal said it is seeking “permanent
injunctive relief” that also includes damages, reimbursement for
compensation paid to Bedier “during the time period he was disloyal” to
PayPal, and royalties.
Both Bedier and Tilenius led an event Thursday to
launch Google Wallet. The service also includes MasterCard Inc.,
Citigroup Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp. as partners with Google.
In an e-mail, a Google spokesman said the company respects trade secrets and plans to defend itself.
“Silicon Valley was built on the ability of
individuals to use their knowledge and expertise to seek better
employment opportunities, an idea recognized by both California law and
public policy,” the statement read.
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