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This is the part I do not like: i) Due to the nature of your duties and your particular responsibilities, you recognise that you have an obligation to further

This is the part I do not like: i) Due to the nature of your duties and your particular responsibilities, you recognise that you have an obligation to further the interests of company “B”. ii) If you make an Invention in the course of your duties for us, you must disclose it to us at once. That Invention will belong to us. If we obtain a patent for that Invention, however, you may be entitled to compensation for it in accordance with the Patents Act 1977 s.40. iii) Subject to ii), all Intellectual Property Rights that come into existence during the normal course of your employment or by using materials, tools or knowledge made available through your employment, will belong to us or any of the Group Companies which we nominate. If required to do so (whether during or after the termination of your employment), you must sign any document and do anything necessary to vest ownership in these rights in us as sole beneficial owner. Where ownership does not automatic ally vest by Act of Parliament, you must immediately assign all your interests to us. You irrevocably waive all your rights pursuant to sections 77 to 83 inclusive of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. iv) The provisions of this clause 3 (c) shall remain in full force and effect following any termination of this agreement for any reason, whether such termination is lawful or not. Any thoughts?

bugsbugs 9y ago
"Intellectual Property Rights" - Copyright and related rights, registered designs, trademarks, service marks, trade names and domain names, rights in get-up, rights in goodwill or to sue for passing off, rights in designs, rights in computer software, database rights, rights in confidential information (including know-how and trade secrets) rights in and to any inventions, patents, design patents, utility patents and any other intellectual property rights, in each case whether registered or unregistered and including all applications (or rights to apply) for, and renewals or extensions of, such rights and all similar or equivalent rights o r forms of protection which may now or in the future subsist in any part of the world. "Inventions" - Inventions, ideas and improvements, whether or not patentable, and whether or not recorded in any medium.
itamarst 9y ago
Problematic bits might be "in the course of your duties for us" (need a lawyer to know what that means) and "by using knowledge made available through your employment" is very vague... My experience is with small companies you can negotiate changes that make everyone happy, if you have a lawyer to reduce hassle for company. Big companies... harder to say.
- bugsbugs 9y ago
  For me issue is "or by using materials, tools or knowledge made available through your employment" when you combine it with "whether during or after the termination of your employment" and "shall remain in full force and effect following any termination" So basically, let say I do not know Scala and I learn it there or I use GoDaddy to register domain, according to contract I will never be able to use those anywhere else, and if I do I will need to handover things I have done?!
  - siegel 9y ago
    The "materials, tools" part is fairly standard in the U.S. (I believe the OP is in the UK, though, correct?). The "knowledge" part is overbroad. If knowledge were replaced with "Company's confidential information," then that would make sense and is standard. Your employer has a legitimate interest in your not using their trade secrets and confidential information for your own use. But everyone gains "knowledge" working at a job. Whether it's learning a programming language, being introduced to a publicly available tool or service, we all learn things of general applicability at our jobs. Come on - why do employers ask for people with X years experience, other than the fact that they understand people learn things from their working experience? So, yes, this is unreasonable and I wouldn't sign it, unless amended.

bugsbugs 9y ago

"Intellectual Property Rights" - Copyright and related rights, registered designs, trademarks, service marks, trade names and domain names, rights in get-up, rights in goodwill or to sue for passing off, rights in designs, rights in computer software, database rights, rights in confidential information (including know-how and trade secrets) rights in and to any inventions, patents, design patents, utility patents and any other intellectual property rights, in each case whether registered or unregistered and including all applications (or rights to apply) for, and renewals or extensions of, such rights and all similar or equivalent rights o r forms of protection which may now or in the future subsist in any part of the world. "Inventions" - Inventions, ideas and improvements, whether or not patentable, and whether or not recorded in any medium.

itamarst 9y ago

Problematic bits might be "in the course of your duties for us" (need a lawyer to know what that means) and "by using knowledge made available through your employment" is very vague... My experience is with small companies you can negotiate changes that make everyone happy, if you have a lawyer to reduce hassle for company. Big companies... harder to say.

bugsbugs 9y ago
For me issue is "or by using materials, tools or knowledge made available through your employment" when you combine it with "whether during or after the termination of your employment" and "shall remain in full force and effect following any termination" So basically, let say I do not know Scala and I learn it there or I use GoDaddy to register domain, according to contract I will never be able to use those anywhere else, and if I do I will need to handover things I have done?!
- siegel 9y ago
  The "materials, tools" part is fairly standard in the U.S. (I believe the OP is in the UK, though, correct?). The "knowledge" part is overbroad. If knowledge were replaced with "Company's confidential information," then that would make sense and is standard. Your employer has a legitimate interest in your not using their trade secrets and confidential information for your own use. But everyone gains "knowledge" working at a job. Whether it's learning a programming language, being introduced to a publicly available tool or service, we all learn things of general applicability at our jobs. Come on - why do employers ask for people with X years experience, other than the fact that they understand people learn things from their working experience? So, yes, this is unreasonable and I wouldn't sign it, unless amended.