HP is accused of spying on Dell

Hewlett-Packard Co. paid to obtain information from a former head of a Dell Inc. unit about Dell’s plans to enter the printer market, a former HP executive said in court papers.

Karl Kamb, former vice president of business development and strategy at HP, said in papers filed Jan. 19 in federal court in Tyler, Texas, that the arrangement was so secret that his company accused him of stealing money he paid.

Kamb’s statements were part of a countersuit against Palo Alto-based HP. The computer and printer maker sued Kamb and other former employees in 2005, accusing them of stealing trade secrets about flat panel monitors to start a new firm.

HP spokeswoman Emma D. Wischhusen said, “This counterclaim is wholly without merit.”