Apple and Google: no more staff poaching from each other

Apple and Google are close to reaching an agreement not to solicit each other's staff, according to the documents of the Department of Justice, who has been investigating the process. 

At the time of the alleged collusion Google's CEO Eric Schmidt was on the board of Apple - a situation also under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.

The negotiations to end the probe are complex and some companies are more willing to avoid court than others.

The DoJ has been investigating Apple and Google for more than a year although it believes the practices may be more widespread. Agreements varied between full no-poaching deals and simply preventing cold calling.

The other companies that fell under the DoJ’s thorough investigation include Adobe, Pixar and Intuit.

The companies accused of anti-competitive behavior have said such agreements are necessary if they are to collaborate and work together without the fear of losing key staff.

Microsoft and IBM have both said that they are no longer being investigated by the DoJ.