Pretty sure I will be asking a lawyer, but I want to learn more words and concepts first.
A possible new job wants to own any intellectual property I create and wants me to declare anything I want to keep as my own. This seems normal in my industry as they will be paying me to do some thinking.
Issue is that I have a number of ideas I have been developing. I am going to float some of them as products in my own time, though this may be years from now. Most of these are outside the current market for the company as far as I know.
How is this typically handled? I presume I don’t need to have copyrights or trademarks prior and can just list tentative titles.
I am also a little unclear on the spread between “intellectual property” and “an idea I am playing with”.
Thoughts? Concepts to investigate?
Edit: I did Internet search this, but I have not found working keywords.
I got my contract modified to exclude anything I do outside of work
If there are any ideas you want to make sure you protect upfront, write them down & mail them to yourself.
Don’t open it when it comes back & you’ll have postmarked proof the idea was yours on the day you mailed the letter.
That’s what they taught us film school in the early 2000’s anyways.
You have to send it certified mail. Unopened, the document is considered as old as the postmarking. Often called a poor man’s copyright.
NAL, but have heard of these. Amazon was really bad about it a few years ago.
General rule, anything you do on company time/devices/premises is theirs. That is enforceable for sure, and it’s provable.
Anything you do in your own time is generally unenforceable, unless you still code/materials or something from them. Caveat being that it can’t conflict with your work. i.e. if you work for Expedia and start a new travel company you may be in an enforceable grey area, “They stole company secrets to compete with us”. However if you work for a game company and make your own game, you’re probably fine.
Read your contract, know it upside down and sideways, that’s going to be the guiding principal.
Anything you do in your own time is generally unenforceable
With the important caveat that your employment contract may include clauses that give them rights over that stuff anyway, and even if they’re unenforceable you could still end up having to fight in court over it.
Definitely something to keep in mind when reading the contract over, and ideally get a lawyer to take a look. It can be expensive, but weigh that expense against the potential expense of what would happen if you get screwed over.
Yeah that’s the bit I remember when Amazon was launching their game studio. It was deep in the fine print that anything you built even on your own time was owned by them, and they got flamed pretty hard by it to remove it. Important to always check for that crap, it’s usually unenforceable, but remember by unenforceable I mean “You’re going up against your company’s lawyers. You’d probably win, if you put up a ton of your own money to fight that the contract shouldn’t be valid in court with your own high price lawyers”
I have signed several of these. If you do it on company time or with company resources, it’s theirs. If you do it on your own time with your own stuff, it’s yours.
You may or may not be shocked to learn how many “personal projects” get done when people are supposed to be doing the work they get paid for or with resources they are effectively stealing from their employer. This isn’t some evil corporate attempt to steal your brilliant work. They are trying to make sure that when you are at work using their stuff you are doing your actual job.
If you have your own things you want to pitch as products you will be giving over the rights to that the minute you work on it on company time with company resources.
If your ideas are good, save money, quit, start a start up, and use your connections to make a good deal with them (sell it to them). Or wait until you are a vested shareholder.
I actually have a friend who’s involved in a situation like this right now. He got laid off from his old job a few months back and while he was job hunting he started working on a project with a couple other friends that could be worth a fair bit of money. He’s had job offers since then and he got a lawyer to write up a description of the project he’s working on that could be inserted into those “I’m keeping the rights to this stuff” contract sections.
It’s a bit different for him because it’s stuff that he’s actively working on right now, though. It sounds like your case might be simpler, if it’s stuff you haven’t done yet and don’t plan to try working on while employed with this current employer I suspect you won’t need to worry about it. Though of course, IANAL.
Chat GPT4 says:
It’s wise to consult a lawyer for matters involving intellectual property (IP) rights, particularly when entering into an employment agreement that may affect ownership of your ideas. Here are some key concepts and steps you might consider:
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Intellectual Property (IP) Assignment: This typically refers to a clause in employment contracts where an employee agrees to transfer the rights of creations related to the job to the employer. Understanding the scope of this clause is crucial.
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Pre-existing Works: You should document and list any pre-existing ideas or projects you have developed before joining the company. These should be explicitly excluded from the IP assignment in your contract.
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Scope of Work: Clarify with the employer the fields or subjects the IP assignment covers. If your ideas are outside this scope, they may not fall under the company’s IP claim.
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Invention Assignment Agreements: These are common in tech and creative industries and usually require employees to disclose any inventions made during their employment. Distinguishing between work-related and personal projects is essential here.
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Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs): These could also play a role in how your ideas are protected or disclosed.
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Document Everything: Keep detailed records of your ideas, the development process, and the dates. This could be vital if there’s ever a dispute about when and where the IP was created.
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Future Ventures: If you plan to develop your ideas into products in the future, consider forming a legal entity (like an LLC) and assigning your IP to that entity.
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Terms to Research: Look into “work made for hire,” “non-compete clauses,” “trade secrets,” and “non-disclosure agreements.”
Remember, the laws can vary significantly by jurisdiction, and the specifics of your situation can change the advice significantly, so professional legal counsel is always recommended.
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