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Non-Compete Agreements: Are They Worth the Trouble?

TechCrunch's Apple And IBM Resolve Employment Dispute; Papermaster Can Now Get To Work raises this question:

While I do not generally oppose using non-compete agreements, they do have limitations:

1. They do not last forever.
2. The business might lose employees.
3. The business must enforce the agreement - that is go to court, pay court costs, pay legal fees - which may cost more than what is saved.

For more abstract problems there is Trade Secret Litigation and Free Speech: Is it Time to Restrain the Plaintiffs? by Elizabeth Rowe.

Think of non-compete agreements as a tool. They have their uses and the business must consider how they will use. I would point out that garden leave exists as an alternative/parallel tool to non-compete agreements.

Non-compete agreements exist to protect the employer from unfair competition.

Businesses contemplating the need for a non-competition need to have a long discussion with their attorney before turning them loose on creating a non-compete agreement. If you need a lawyer for a non-compete agreement, please contact me so we can set up a meeting.

Full post as published by Indiana Civil & Business Lawyer on January 13, 2010 (boomark / email).