Controversy greets Google's pay-by-phone system

Google on Thursay unveiled a mobile phone payment service in association with Master Card, Citigroup, transaction processing company First Data and mobile phone maker Sprint, which would make mobile phone payment services available to customers of Citi and the credit card firm.

But the pay-by-phone services that Google planned to make available is allegdly built on stolen technology, according to online payment service provider eBay and its online payment unit PayPal Inc.

The two have, in fact, moved court against two Google executives who were former employees of eBay, for stealing trade secrets related to mobile payment systems.

Osama Bedier and Stephanie Tilenius, the two Google executives who led the launch of Google's mobile payment system, were formerly with PayPal.

eBay has accused Bedier of "misappropriating PayPal trade secrets by disclosing them within Google and to major retailers."

The suit accuses Tilenius of recruiting Bedier, thereby breaking a contractual agreement with eBay. Bedier, the suit claims, also attempted to recruit some former colleagues at PayPal.