4 ms·

[Google owns any IP you develop, even on your own time](http://startups.stackexchange.com/questions/7822/working-legally-on-a-side-project-while-employed-by-goo

by dandv 10y ago

[Google owns any IP you develop, even on your own time](http://startups.stackexchange.com/questions/7822/working-legally-on-a-side-project-while-employed-by-google-in-california http://startups.stackexchange.com/questions/7822/working-leg...), and you can't easily work on those interview-worthy side projects after you get hired.

eridius 10y ago
That's not necessarily true. Companies certainly like to advocate for the idea that they automatically own any work you do that's relevant to any of their business interests, even if that work isn't relevant to your particular job. But that doesn't mean it'll hold up in court. Just a couple of days ago I was reading something about how courts regularly side with employees instead of employers in disputes like this, how they tend to interpret that as only applying to work relevant to the employee's job and not to other parts of the company. Unfortunately I don't remember where I was reading that, so I can't go find it again. Of course, take this with a massive grain of salt. I'd certainly prefer not to have to go to court to try and figure out if this is actually true.
- jodrellblank 10y ago
  Were you reading it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13142327 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13142327 ? There's a couple of mentions of courts siding with employees and courts in California siding with employees.
  - eridius 10y ago
    That's probably it. And I'm in California so I probably only paid attention to that bit.
xaro 10y ago
That's kinda true, but we can request to get our copyright back on a per-project basis.
0xfeba 10y ago
All previous companies I worked for had this clause. I've heard it's not as easy as typed to actually enforce. However, the companies I worked for stated that any personal project "relevant" to company interests belonged to them, up to 6 months after you leave.
rbrcurtis 10y ago
This clause is illegal in many states. It definitively is in Wisconsin where I live, and I thought for sure it was illegal in California.
- rbrcurtis 10y ago
  http://www.shakelaw.com/blog/employee-inventions/ http://www.shakelaw.com/blog/employee-inventions/ "For example, the California Labor Code stipulates that regardless of what an employment contract or PIIA says, an employee owns the copyright and patent rights to his inventions if the invention is made entirely on the employee’s own time, without using any of the company’s equipment or technology, as long as the invention (a) does not relate to the company’s business, or (b) did not result from work performed by the employee “as an employee” of the company. Washington state has a similar law protecting employee projects outside the 9-5 bounds."

by dandv 10y ago

eridius 10y ago

That's not necessarily true. Companies certainly like to advocate for the idea that they automatically own any work you do that's relevant to any of their business interests, even if that work isn't relevant to your particular job. But that doesn't mean it'll hold up in court. Just a couple of days ago I was reading something about how courts regularly side with employees instead of employers in disputes like this, how they tend to interpret that as only applying to work relevant to the employee's job and not to other parts of the company. Unfortunately I don't remember where I was reading that, so I can't go find it again. Of course, take this with a massive grain of salt. I'd certainly prefer not to have to go to court to try and figure out if this is actually true.

jodrellblank 10y ago
Were you reading it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13142327 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13142327 ? There's a couple of mentions of courts siding with employees and courts in California siding with employees.
- eridius 10y ago
  That's probably it. And I'm in California so I probably only paid attention to that bit.

xaro 10y ago

That's kinda true, but we can request to get our copyright back on a per-project basis.

0xfeba 10y ago

All previous companies I worked for had this clause. I've heard it's not as easy as typed to actually enforce. However, the companies I worked for stated that any personal project "relevant" to company interests belonged to them, up to 6 months after you leave.

rbrcurtis 10y ago

This clause is illegal in many states. It definitively is in Wisconsin where I live, and I thought for sure it was illegal in California.

rbrcurtis 10y ago
http://www.shakelaw.com/blog/employee-inventions/ http://www.shakelaw.com/blog/employee-inventions/ "For example, the California Labor Code stipulates that regardless of what an employment contract or PIIA says, an employee owns the copyright and patent rights to his inventions if the invention is made entirely on the employee’s own time, without using any of the company’s equipment or technology, as long as the invention (a) does not relate to the company’s business, or (b) did not result from work performed by the employee “as an employee” of the company. Washington state has a similar law protecting employee projects outside the 9-5 bounds."