I think the issues are much deeper.I actually downloaded the documents mentioned in that post last night, and the complaint of VG is that he:-- started his - competing - company while at VG (documented);- used VG company resources to do so (documented);- tried to hire away his colleagues for his startup while still an employee (documented);- used his access as an employee of VG to their customers to bankroll his startup (documented);- and finally used IP he was working on for VG as the core of his competing startup (also documented - according to VG, he actually emailed VG's internal counsel to try to get his aerospike work removed from his IPR agreement while he was still an employee and they refused).
And if you are VG, what do you really want - Firefly out of business I guess? So you have to think that this is a pretty serious threat to the future of the business if the entire company was founded on that basis - don't forget Blum and King were VG space tourist customers as well, and they all met at a private tour of VG facilities (there's an email chain about that too).
But this is not about non-compete clauses, it's about IP breach and misconduct while still under contract, that's something different and would be the same in California
That said, it doesn't sound like it's going well for him in court.
Quote from: pippin on 08/07/2016 11:52 pmBut this is not about non-compete clauses, it's about IP breach and misconduct while still under contract, that's something different and would be the same in CaliforniaSo now a lot depends on what he signed when he joined up. Given that he wasn't exactly an intern, you always fill out the list of IP and skills you bring with you (not only patents. Any IP.) And beyond IP, if he just used company resources (email system and phones and whatnot) this doesn't give the company automatic ownership of what he did. It just means he violated rules.That said, it doesn't sound like it's going well for him in court.
Quote from: meekGee on 08/08/2016 03:55 amQuote from: pippin on 08/07/2016 11:52 pmBut this is not about non-compete clauses, it's about IP breach and misconduct while still under contract, that's something different and would be the same in CaliforniaSo now a lot depends on what he signed when he joined up. Given that he wasn't exactly an intern, you always fill out the list of IP and skills you bring with you (not only patents. Any IP.) And beyond IP, if he just used company resources (email system and phones and whatnot) this doesn't give the company automatic ownership of what he did. It just means he violated rules.That said, it doesn't sound like it's going well for him in court.Usually it should give them ownership if he did things during office hours unless agreed otherwise or clearly unrelated to their business which will be hard to argue hereAnyway... I don't know details so this is pretty much speculation my point was just that this has nothing to do with non-compete clauses
Quote from: pippin on 08/08/2016 10:51 amUsually it should give them ownership if he did things during office hours unless agreed otherwise or clearly unrelated to their business which will be hard to argue hereI think that is my understanding as well. IMHO at minimum his personal shares (and job) are at high risk, if the claims are proven. And beyond that there is a huge question mark over new shares I would think. This is what one judge said:THE COURT: So your remedy on arbitration would be to enter a judgment against Dr. Markusic and take all his stock in Galactic and then, take over the corporation and find out. I mean, it's very easy. I would do that if I was the litigator if the arbiter would go along with it. Seems like the arbiter might if they stonewall it.Yikes.
Usually it should give them ownership if he did things during office hours unless agreed otherwise or clearly unrelated to their business which will be hard to argue here
That combined with the fact that they are pursuing an aerospike, I think it was just an engineering decision to choose between aerospike and autogenously pressurized methane. Aerospike won out cause it's a flashier technology. At least that's my theory.
Have they said how they plan to cool the plug? Surely regenerative cooling the plug and combustion chambers is to much of a pressure drop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS-pDQdb2_4&feature=youtu.beFFSS with Tom Markusic, and team.