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CA law protects independent side projects, even if your employer says otherwise

leginfo.legislature.ca.gov

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Re: CA law protects independent side projects, even if your employer says otherwise

#11

This isn't a new provision, and is reflected in most CA employment contracts. The problem is clause #1 - "Relate at the time of conception or reduction to practice of the invention to the employer’s business, or actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development of the employer". If you work for a big company - Apple, or Google, or even IBM - they tend to claim that their business is "anything computer relate…

Has that clause ever been actually tested in court? I can't think of any cases where one of the big companies went after moonlighting.

Re: CA law protects independent side projects, even if your employer says otherwise

#12

Remember this specifically calls out not using company hardware. I know a lot of people use their company laptop for their side projects and that would be a problem.

I moved to CA for a job and I read the contract carefully thanks to things I've read on here. I'll be damned if my side projects end up as property of my employer (well in my case, my employer's client).

My personal projects are done on my own computers. Eliminates the surface area for ambiguity.

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