It was a big sigh of relief for the former IBM executive Mark Papermaster, who was yesterday cleared to work as Apple's new senior vice president of devices hardware engineering.

On Tuesday, Apple announced that its legal battle going on with IBM, over Mark Papermaster’s new job at Apple, has been settled, and Mr. Papermaster will get to work on April 24.

Mark Papermaster, the former vice president of IBM's blade development, accepted to work with Apple in October, when IBM challenged his new job and sued him claiming that Papermaster knew many of its “trade secrets and confidences" that he could divulge to Apple.

In the court, IBM produced an agreement that the company signed with Papermaster in 2006, in which Papermaster had committed that he would not work with any of IBM’s competitors for at least a year, after leaving the company. Seeing the agreement, a U.S. district court, in November, stopped Papermaster from joining Apple.

But, in a statement issued on Tuesday, Apple said, "The litigation between IBM and Mark Papermaster has been resolved.” According to Apple, the court has dismissed all claim and counterclaims and lifted the injunction against Papermaster, who of course, is prohibited to divulge IBM’s trade secrets to Apple. In July 2009 and again in October 2009, Papermaster will certify in the court that he will not disclose any of IBM’s trade secrets to Apple.

In an emailed statement yesterday, IBM said, "IBM and Mr. Papermaster have agreed on a resolution of the lawsuit under which Papermaster will remain subject to all of his contractual and other legal duties to IBM, including the obligation not to use or disclose IBM's confidential information.” According to IBM, it will require Papermaster to certify in court this July and in October that he will not disclose IBM's confidential or proprietary information to Apple.

According to reports, starting from April 24, Mark Papermaster will lead Apple's iPod and iPhone hardware engineering teams. Papermaster will replace iPod innovator Tony Fadell.