EX-EMPLOYEES TARGETED: Keeping secrets; More firms suing to protect proprietary information.(Brief Article)

Crain's Chicago Business, January, 2002 by Gallun, Alby

Three months after raising $11 million for his wireless networking startup, Andrew Bezaitis found another obstacle standing in his way: a lawsuit from his former employer, 3Com Corp. The suit accused Mr. Bezaitis and two other former employees of stealing 3Com's trade secrets when they left the telecom gear maker in August 2000 to form their own company, Rosemont-based Cambia Networks Inc.

Denying the allegations, Mr. Bezaitis sees another motive behind such suits. ``The big incumbents are using a well-known business tactic, which is to use the legal system to stifle competition and slow down new entrants like ourselves,'' he says. ``It hurts innovation and it hurts the customer.'' Whether viewed as an anti-competitive bullying tactic or a legitimate way...

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