This paper addresses the legitimacy of competing interests involved in the enforcement of covenants not to compete (“noncompetes”). To date, the courts and legislatures have not relied on a principled theoretical framework to identify and assess the competing interests between firms and individuals in this setting. This paper fills the research void by providing a theoretical framework that identifies the legitimacy of these competing claims. The framework integrates managerial research involving the resource-based theory of the firm and the knowledge-based perspective of competitive advantage with the legal analysis and enforcement of noncompete terms. A descriptive framework of the parties’ competing interests provides four discrete scenarios, which formalizes the types of legitimate interests a court must balance when asked to enforce noncompetes. From this descriptive account, a prescriptive analysis is advocated that uses an ownership approach to assess the legitimacy of an employer’s claim to knowledge covered by a noncompete.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/85367/1/1157_Bishara.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/85367/4/1157_Bishara_Apr12.pd
