In new court documents only revealed this week it is shown that a federal judge ordered Mark Papermaster to halt work at Apple because he could cause “irreparable harm” to former employer IBM.

Although the ruling was made by Judge Kenneth Karas on November 7 the decision was only made public earlier this week.

In the ruling Judge Karas wrote “Because Mr. Papermaster has been inculcated with some of IBM’s most sensitive and closely-guarded technical and strategic secrets, it is no great leap for the Court to find that Plaintiff has met its burden of showing a likelihood of irreparable harm.”

The judge also touched on Papermaster’s point that Apple and IBM are no longer competitors, Karas noted that although Papermaster would not be designing chips for Apple he would no doubt have to call upon is superior experience that he received from IBM.

“It is likely that Mr. Papermaster inevitably will draw upon his experience and expertise in microprocessors and the ‘Power’ architecture, which he gained from his many years at IBM, and which Apple found so impressive, to make sure that the iPod and iPhone are fitted with the best possible microprocessor technology and at a lower cost,” adding; “Indeed, any claim that he would merely use general engineering skills is belied by Apple’s focus on Mr. Papermaster’s ’spot on’ knowledge of semiconductors and microprocessor design,” he added.

Karas ruled that the case would run on a fast track, “The Court has ordered that an expedited discovery schedule be arranged and that the trial take place as soon as practicable after discovery is completed,” he said.