Earlier this year, Patrice Desilets left Ubisoft Montreal, where he had developed three editions of Assassin's Creed, and moved to THQ's operations in the same city. Ubisoft didn't take that lying down, filing suit against THQ for poaching its top talent and winning a court's decision enjoining it from doing so further.
An appeals court for Quebec has overturned that injunction, finding that THQ's pursuit of former Ubisoft employees was not bound by any non-compete clauses in their contracts.THQ claimed complete victory, asserting that the ruling meant its pursuit of Ubisoft talent "did not constitute unfair competition but rather the exercise of its legitimate legal rights based on the principle of liberty of commerce and trade."
Quebec Court of Appeal Unanimously Rules in Favor of THQ in Case against Ubisoft [Ubisoft Investor Relations News Release]