'Not invented here' is killing Chicago R&D
chicagobusiness.com
chicagobusiness.com
"Illinois, on the other hand, is where the flagship state university threatened to sue Marc Andreesen for using what he learned as a U of I undergrad to create the first commercially successful Web browser"
UIUC went after Andressen's Mosaic Communications because UIUC/NCSA claimed ownership of the name Mosaic. Mosaic Communications changed their name to Netscape. The legal action had nothing to do with Andressen trying to use his undergraduate education in the workplace.
"I'm not saying California firms like it when talented employees leave with know-how acquired on the company's dime. But the broader ethos of the valley regards such activity as not only acceptable but essential to the economic dynamism of the region."
No, by long standing public policy (way before the Silicon Valley or even HP day) non-competes are unenforceable. Perhaps something of this ethos has developed as a result, but I'm sure the law came before the ethos. Well, maybe HP back in the good old days was relaxed about this, but definitely not Shockley the junk yard dog. If he'd started his firm elsewhere we very possibly wouldn't be communicating on this forum right now, because of how this would have slowed progress of the field.