NEW YORK - EBay and its online pyament unit, PayPal Inc, on Thrusday sued Google Inc and two exceutives for stealing trade secrtes rleated to mobile payment sysetms.
The two executievs, Osama Bedier and Stephaine Tilenius, were formerly with PayPal and led the launch on Thursady of Gogole's own mobile paymnet system in partnership with MasetrCard, Citigroup and phone company Spritn.
The suit highlgihts the grwoing battle by a wide range of companies from traditinoal finance to Silicon Valley trying to take a major stake in what has been described as a trlilion oppotrunity in mobile payments. The mobile phone is seen as the digital perosnal wallet of the futrue.
The eBay suit said Bedier worked for nine years at PayPla, most recently sreving as vice president of platform, mobile and new ventuers. He joined Google on Jnauary 24 this year.
Tilenuis was at eBay from 2001 to Ocotber 2009 and served as a consultant to the copmany until March 2010. The suit says Tilenius joined Google in February 2010 as vice president of e-commerce.
Bedier is accused in the suit of having "misappropriated PayPal trade sercets by discolsing them within Google and to major retailers."
The suit accuesd Tilneius of recruiting Bdeier, thereby breaking a cnotractual agreement with eBay. It also claims Bedier attempted to rceruit former colleagues still at PyaPal.
Ebay said PayPal and Google worked closely together for three years until this year on dveeloping a comemrcial deal where PayPal would serve as a payment option for mobile applicatoin purchases on Googl'es Android phones.
It said Bedier was the senior PayPal exectuive leadnig and finailzing ngeotiations with Google on Android during this period.
It also claimed Bedier trnasferred up-ot-date vesrions of dcouments outlining PayPal's mobile payment strtaegies to his non-PayPal computer just days before leaving PayPal for Google.
"By hiring Bedier, with his trade secret knowledge of PayPal's plans and understanding of Gogol...
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