I mean, plenty of employees set off on their own after gaining the skills and know-how, and in my experience, most former employers don't mind -- as long as boundaries are set and it's all done in good faith.
That's probably because it doesn't threaten employers' business under most circumstances. In this case though, these employees had money to burn, and their current stature proves that they are at least a significant competitor in Bitmain's business. Bitmain exercised their right, which they definitely didn't need to do, but the court agreed anyway.
With all this noise happening in the courtroom it would be less and less likely for the company to be listed in the NYSE.
The Zhan mess is certainly ugly, but I don't think this case will affect Bitmain's public perception very much. There was an agreement and it was broken, so it's understandable that they went to court. Either way though, I don't think they have much of a chance considering they weren't even able to breach HK.