> Don't you think the board must have sought legal counsel before acting?
They probably should have, but they may have not.
> It is more likely than not that they checked with a lawyer whether what they were doing is within their legal rights.
It is. But having the legal rights to do something and having it stand unopposed are two different things and when one of the affected parties is the proverbial 900 pound Gorilla you tread more than carefully and if you do not you can expect some backlash. Possibly a lot of backlash.
> I don't think OpenAI board has any responsibility to care for Microsoft's stock price.
Not formally, no. But that isn't what matters.
> Such arguments won't hold water in a court of law.
I'll withhold comment on that until I've seen the ruling. But what does and does not hold water in a court of law unless a case is extremely clear cut isn't something to bet on. Plenty of court cases that have been won because someone managed to convince a judge of something that you and I may think should not have happened.
> And I don't think the power of Microsoft's legal department would matter when there's no legal basis.
The idea here is that Microsofts - immense - legal department has the resources to test your case to destruction if it isn't iron-clad. And it may well not be. Regardless, suing the board members individually is probably threat enough to get them to back down instantly.
They probably should have, but they may have not.
> It is more likely than not that they checked with a lawyer whether what they were doing is within their legal rights.
It is. But having the legal rights to do something and having it stand unopposed are two different things and when one of the affected parties is the proverbial 900 pound Gorilla you tread more than carefully and if you do not you can expect some backlash. Possibly a lot of backlash.
> I don't think OpenAI board has any responsibility to care for Microsoft's stock price.
Not formally, no. But that isn't what matters.
> Such arguments won't hold water in a court of law.
I'll withhold comment on that until I've seen the ruling. But what does and does not hold water in a court of law unless a case is extremely clear cut isn't something to bet on. Plenty of court cases that have been won because someone managed to convince a judge of something that you and I may think should not have happened.
> And I don't think the power of Microsoft's legal department would matter when there's no legal basis.
The idea here is that Microsofts - immense - legal department has the resources to test your case to destruction if it isn't iron-clad. And it may well not be. Regardless, suing the board members individually is probably threat enough to get them to back down instantly.