By Gregg Keizer

A federal judge ordered Apple Inc.'s newest executive to leave the company just five days after starting work because he might cause "irreparable harm" to his former employer, IBM, unsealed court documents show.

In the opinion, Karas explained why he granted IBM's request for a preliminary injunction that blocked Papermaster from working for Apple, where he was to head iPod and iPhone hardware development. Last month, IBM sued Papermaster, claiming that a noncompetition agreement he signed in 2006 barred him from working for competitors for a year after leaving the company. According to IBM, Papermaster had information of "highly confidential IBM trade secrets" that would "irreparably harm" the company if he's allowed to work for Apple.

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