4 ms·

Honest question for those more legally-versed than me. CA labor code protects inventions developed on one's own time without using the employer's "equipment, s

by latkin 10y ago

Honest question for those more legally-versed than me. CA labor code protects inventions developed on one's own time without using the employer's "equipment, supplies, facilities, or trade secret information." [1] Would "supplies" cover incidental food/drink provided by the employer? e.g. I grab a bottled water on my way out of the office, and drink it at home while I hack on my app after-hours on personal equipment. Does that mean my app is developed with my employer's supplies? That would seem pretty crazy, however on the extreme end if I was subsisting entirely on work snacks while developing my app then maybe that's different? [1] http://codes.findlaw.com/ca/labor-code/lab-sect-2870.html http://codes.findlaw.com/ca/labor-code/lab-sect-2870.html

greggman 10y ago
Why is every time I see this law referred to people seem to have only read the first clause, not the following clauses > a) Any provision in an employment agreement which provides that an employee shall assign, or offer to assign, any of his or her rights in an invention to his or her employer shall not apply to an invention that the employee developed entirely on his or her own time without using the employer's equipment, supplies, facilities, or trade secret information except for those inventions that either: > (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; or > (2) Result from any work performed by the employee for the employer. So no, it's not just things you did at home on your own time and own equipment. They must also not be related to your employer's business etc .... What's related would be up to a court/judge if it came to that but there's certainly a spectrum. You work on Call of Duty 27 and try to make an FPS at home. Certainly related. You work on Call of Duty and try to make a Candy Crush Clone at home. Probably related (seems like it would be considered competition for game market). You work on Call of Duty and try to write your own game engine at home. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . You work on Call of Duty and try to make a Tinder clone at home. Now , maybe we're getting in the unrelated territory? You work on Call of Duty and sell baked goods at home. Probably not an issue. If you work at a giant company like Sony that does ISPs, Health Insurance, Movies, TVs, Cameras, Video Games, Batteries, Music, LCD displays, etc etc well then you're probably going to have a lot of things that are in that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ spectrum Of course IANAL. If you want to do something outside of work that's even possibly in any way shape or form remotely related to your company's line of business get them to sign a contract saying they won't claim any rights in your project. If they won't consider working for a better company.
- latkin 10y ago
  I think you are missing my point. Obviously if you work on projects related to your employer's business that is a conflict, even when executed in a clean room. The question is, assuming all else is above board (totally unrelated to employer's business, on your own equipment, on your own time...), can you get nailed by eating a bag of work-provided Cheetos while hacking on your project?
  - zeptomu 10y ago
    > [...] an you get nailed by eating a bag of work-provided Cheetos while hacking on your project? I doubt it, but it is not the important point. > Obviously if you work on projects related to your employer's business that is a conflict [...] It is not obvious I think. If one interprets this rigorous it would be impossible to work on any kind of low-level, tooling or infrastructure software, as it might be used indirectly by your company (or its competitors), so there is a conflict. IANAL.

by latkin 10y ago

greggman 10y ago

Why is every time I see this law referred to people seem to have only read the first clause, not the following clauses > a) Any provision in an employment agreement which provides that an employee shall assign, or offer to assign, any of his or her rights in an invention to his or her employer shall not apply to an invention that the employee developed entirely on his or her own time without using the employer's equipment, supplies, facilities, or trade secret information except for those inventions that either: > (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; or > (2) Result from any work performed by the employee for the employer. So no, it's not just things you did at home on your own time and own equipment. They must also not be related to your employer's business etc .... What's related would be up to a court/judge if it came to that but there's certainly a spectrum. You work on Call of Duty 27 and try to make an FPS at home. Certainly related. You work on Call of Duty and try to make a Candy Crush Clone at home. Probably related (seems like it would be considered competition for game market). You work on Call of Duty and try to write your own game engine at home. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . You work on Call of Duty and try to make a Tinder clone at home. Now , maybe we're getting in the unrelated territory? You work on Call of Duty and sell baked goods at home. Probably not an issue. If you work at a giant company like Sony that does ISPs, Health Insurance, Movies, TVs, Cameras, Video Games, Batteries, Music, LCD displays, etc etc well then you're probably going to have a lot of things that are in that ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ spectrum Of course IANAL. If you want to do something outside of work that's even possibly in any way shape or form remotely related to your company's line of business get them to sign a contract saying they won't claim any rights in your project. If they won't consider working for a better company.

latkin 10y ago
I think you are missing my point. Obviously if you work on projects related to your employer's business that is a conflict, even when executed in a clean room. The question is, assuming all else is above board (totally unrelated to employer's business, on your own equipment, on your own time...), can you get nailed by eating a bag of work-provided Cheetos while hacking on your project?
- zeptomu 10y ago
  > [...] an you get nailed by eating a bag of work-provided Cheetos while hacking on your project? I doubt it, but it is not the important point. > Obviously if you work on projects related to your employer's business that is a conflict [...] It is not obvious I think. If one interprets this rigorous it would be impossible to work on any kind of low-level, tooling or infrastructure software, as it might be used indirectly by your company (or its competitors), so there is a conflict. IANAL.