Fortinet sues Sophos over alleged employee poaching

Fortinet, one of the biggest computer security vendors, is suing rival Sophos alleging it poached senior staff in breach of an agreement signed when a Fortinet executive jumped ship to Sophos earlier this year.

At the center of the case, filed on Monday in federal court in San Jose, California, is the departure of Michael Valentine , a top sales executive at Fortinet. He left the company in February this year for a similar job at Sophos.

According to Fortinet’s complaint, Valentine was followed to Sophos by “numerous important Fortinet employees, including senior executives” in the two months after he left. Three left Fortinet in the same week and another followed several months later, the complaint says.

Fortinet alleges the employee moves were the direct result of solicitation by Valentine, something that was against an agreement he signed upon leaving Fortinet.

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Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2081340/fortinet-sues-sophos-over-alleged-employee-poaching.html#tk.rss_all

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