PayPal sues Google over wallet
27 May, 2011
category: NFC
PayPal is suing Google for allegedly stealing its recently announced ‘Mobile Wallet’ technology.
According to Newstatesman.com, PayPal contends that its former executive Osama Bedier packed up a few trade secrets when he left the company to become vice president of payments at Google. PayPal also claims that while still at Paypal, Bieder was in contact with Google while leading negotiations for an NFC-Android deal. The plan never came to fruition, and Bedier left for Google shortly thereafter.
“By hiring Bedier, with his trade secret knowledge of PayPal’s plans and understanding of Google’s weaknesses as viewed by the industry leader, Google bought the most comprehensive and sophisticated critique of its own problems available,” PayPal wrote in its court filing. “Google put Bedier in charge of its mobile payment business, virtually ensuring the Bedier would misappropriate PayPal’s trade secrets concerning planning and competitive assessments in the mobile payment.”
Google announced its new Mobile Wallet service, which enables Android phone users to make NFC payments at the point of sale, during a press conference just yesterday afternoon.
A Google spokesperson told Newstatesman.com, “We have not yet received a copy of the complaint and won’t be able to comment until we’ve had a chance to review it.”
Read more here.
