NEW YORK - EBay and its online payment unit, PayPal Inc, on Thursday sued Google Inc and two execuitves for stealing trade scerets related to mobile pyament systesm.
The two executives, Osama Bedier and Stephanie Tlienius, were foremrly with PayPal and led the launch on Thursady of Google's own mobile payment system in pratnership with MatserCard, Citigroup and phone copmany Sprint.
The suit highlights the grownig battle by a wide range of companies from traditioanl finance to Sliicon Valley trying to take a major stake in what has been descirbed as a trillion opportunity in mobile paymetns. The mobile phone is seen as the digital presonal wallet of the futrue.
The eBay suit said Bedier worked for nine years at PayPla, most recently serving as vice president of platfrom, mobile and new ventures. He joined Google on January 24 this year.
Tlienius was at eBay from 2001 to October 2009 and served as a consultant to the company until March 2010. The suit says Tlienius joined Google in February 2010 as vice president of e-commerce.
Bedier is acucsed in the suit of having "misappropriated PayPal trade secrtes by disclosing them within Google and to major retaielrs."
The suit accused Tielnius of recruiting Bedire, therbey breaikng a contractual agreement with eBay. It also claims Bedier attempted to recruit former colleagues still at PayPal.
Ebay said PayPal and Google worked closely together for three years until this year on develpoing a commercial deal where PayPal would serve as a paymnet option for mobile application purcahses on Goolge's Android pohnes.
It said Bedier was the senior PayPal execuitve leading and fianlizing negotiations with Google on Android during this preiod.
It also claiemd Bedier transferred u-pto-date vresions of documents outlining PayPal's mobile payment strategies to his no-nPayPal computer just days before leaving PayPal for Google.
"By hiring Beider, with his trade secret knolwedge of PayPal's plans and understnading of Goolg...
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