If the IP is that valuable, why can't they pay those that are familiar with it enough to keep them at the company and happy? And if that's not enough, maybe bui

If the IP is that valuable, why can't they pay those that are familiar with it enough to keep them at the company and happy? And if that's not enough, maybe building an entire business model based around a reproducible IP isn't a great idea. In any way you look at it, a business using non-compete clauses is trying to have the employees bear the weight of questionable business practices.