In a federal court decision that addresses the challenges faced by technology entrepreneurs seeking to start new companies or compete with their former employers, the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of California entered judgment that employment agreements from Applied Materials, a maker of silicon chip manufacturing machines, contained unlawful non-compete provisions; the judgment enjoined Applied from enforcing the illegal provisions.
 
Applied Materials' employment agreements require employees who leave the company to assign to Applied the inventions that they make in the year after leaving. Attorneys from Morrison & Foerster LLP successfully argued that these provisions are an illegal restriction on employee mobility under California law and may not be enforced against anyone, including the executives and inventors of Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment, a Shanghai-based semiconductor equipment company.
 
This decision could dramatically change the business landscape throughout Silicon Valley and other technology hubs, where highly skilled inventors and their employers often clash over proprietary intellectual property, confidential information, and trade secrets. The decision reiterates California's strong public policy in favor of employee mobility and free competition. Employees from all sectors may now less fearful that they need not fear employment contracts that try to control their future inventive and creative works.

In October 2008, AMEC has secured $58 million in Series C financing. New investors included Shanghai Venture Capital Co. Ltd. (SHVC) and Shanghai Pudong Science and Technology Investment Co. Ltd. Existing investors also participated in the round: Walden International, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Goldman Sachs, Redpoint Ventures, Global Catalyst Partners, Interwest Partners, Bay Partners, QUALCOMM Ventures and KT Venture Group.