An appeals court granted IBM temporary relief that could restrict former IBM executive David Johnson from performing full duties at Dell. The relief reinstates a June 4 ruling that allowed Johnson to begin work with Dell, but "restricted him from advising Dell on any matter concerning the business strategy of Dell or IBM," and prohibited from disclosing any confidential IBM information in his possession, according to court documents.

The June 4 ruling asked Johnson to supply his counsel with a daily log of activities at Dell with "reasonable specificity," the amount of time involved in the activities and the persons involved. The log was to be made available to IBM's counsel on request, if ordered by the court.

IBM earlier accused Johnson of violating a noncompetition agreement when he went to work for Dell. The emergency relief, granted to IBM by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on a temporary basis, will hold until a panel of judges can review the motion.

The relief reverses a district court ruling earlier on Friday in which a judge cleared Johnson to perform full duties as Dell's senior vice president of strategy. In the ruling, Judge Stephen Robinson said that IBM's case wasn't strong enough and that IBM's actions raised significant doubts as to whether Johnson had entered into the noncompetition agreement.