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My Ideas, My Boss’s Property

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Re: My Ideas, My Boss’s Property

#71

Post by cynicalkane »

A_COMPUTER wrote: post #59
zecho wrote: post #42

Maybe don't sign these types of contracts? We are fortunate enough that even the most mediocre among us can hold out for the next employer that doesn't demand this kind of control over you, or start your own company. I don't give a shit what a company says about their culture of work/life balance or whatever. If I see blanket IP clauses unrelated to non-compete, or like arbitration clauses that remove us from civil c…

I basically did whistle my way out the door because of this. I worked as a contractor for a very large defense company. After a year, they offered me full time employment. I specifically asked if there was a "we own everything you make" clause in the employment agreement, but I was assured there was not. I went through about five digital form contracts, and when I got to the last one, it had the clause in there. I to…

If you had a written promise, could you sue?

Re: My Ideas, My Boss’s Property

#72

Post by analog31 »

carrotleads wrote: post #57
11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #48

My startup is compensating the engineers with restricted shares in the corporation. When we go for funding, we will want the highest valuation we can convince the investors of. One important valuation attribute is the corporation's legal ownership of the intellectual property produced by the engineers who build the system. That intellectual property is not just patents, but the source code, web site design, system ar…

The first full stop on that INVENTIONS clause comes at the 1019 th character. Amazing sentence construction designed to dazzle with BS.

Maybe it's like patent law, where a claim has to be a single sentence, no matter how un-readable.

Re: My Ideas, My Boss’s Property

#73

Post by zizee »

From Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs, the individual inventor is a hero in our popular imagination

Am I reading this incorrectly? Are they promoting the idea that Steve Jobs is an individual inventor?

Re: My Ideas, My Boss’s Property

#75

Post by A_COMPUTER »

ISL wrote: post #63
A_COMPUTER wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I basically did whistle my way out the door because of this. I worked as a contractor for a very large defense company. After a year, they offered me full time employment. I specifically asked if there was a "we own everything you make" clause in the employment agreement, but I was assured there was not. I went through about five digital form contracts, and when I got to the last one, it had the clause in there. I to…

Strong work. Not everyone has the will, nor the financial wherewithal, to do such a thing.

I was very fortunate. I was single, and at the time I lived _very_ cheaply, and I had set aside enough money that I could survive almost a year without work. Before that, every job I had ever worked had that stupid clause, and I had swore I would never sign it again. I was only at this place because the money was really, really good. The work environment was the worst I've ever experienced. When they sprung that on me, it was the last straw.

They do this to you because they hold all the cards. I was just lucky that I didn't need them.

Re: My Ideas, My Boss’s Property

#76

Post by Duhck »

srs0001 wrote: post #46

Oddly, I was thinking about this exact topic this weekend. When I joined my current company, I signed a document saying whatever I build belongs to the company. I'd like to go back and have this reversed. What is the best course of action? Write a letter saying that what I create on my own time is my property, and have the CEO or HR Manager sign it?

You need to obtain a moonlighting clause. It gives you permission to work on an idea or set of ideas. Your employer should have one available.

Re: My Ideas, My Boss’s Property

#77

Post by redwall_hp »

zecho wrote: post #42

Maybe don't sign these types of contracts? We are fortunate enough that even the most mediocre among us can hold out for the next employer that doesn't demand this kind of control over you, or start your own company. I don't give a shit what a company says about their culture of work/life balance or whatever. If I see blanket IP clauses unrelated to non-compete, or like arbitration clauses that remove us from civil c…

Non-compete is wrong, too. I have a lot of respect for California's courts for ruling against them and making them unenforceable there.

Re: My Ideas, My Boss’s Property

#78

Post by conformal »

wyager wrote: post #67
ISL wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strong work. Not everyone has the will, nor the financial wherewithal, to do such a thing.

>Not everyone has the will... to do such a thing. This may just be crotchety old man talk, but sometimes I wonder if the extremely protective child-rearing (particularly in schools) that seems to be abundant today will make future adults particularly susceptible to this kind of bullying. If you never have to deal with this kind of social stress as a child, how can you possibly deal with it as an adult? Perhaps gettin…

i'm in my 30s and i am in total agreement with you: the modern helicopter parents are so preoccupied with "bullying" that the next generation of kids are going to be soft-minded nitwits on the average. catching a beatdown on the playground now and again made me who i am today and i would never have had it any other way.

having the balls or wisdom to walk away from a situation where you're being bullied, whether literally or figuratively, is becoming rarer nowadays.

Re: My Ideas, My Boss’s Property

#79

Post by redwall_hp »

zizee wrote: post #73

From Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs, the individual inventor is a hero in our popular imagination Am I reading this incorrectly? Are they promoting the idea that Steve Jobs is an individual inventor?

He definitely wasn't. And more importantly, neither was Edison.

Re: My Ideas, My Boss’s Property

#80

Post by vectorpush »

wyager wrote: post #67
ISL wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strong work. Not everyone has the will, nor the financial wherewithal, to do such a thing.

>Not everyone has the will... to do such a thing. This may just be crotchety old man talk, but sometimes I wonder if the extremely protective child-rearing (particularly in schools) that seems to be abundant today will make future adults particularly susceptible to this kind of bullying. If you never have to deal with this kind of social stress as a child, how can you possibly deal with it as an adult? Perhaps gettin…

Rest assured, children are still being bullied quite regularly.
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