4 ms·
Ask HN: My former employer wants my sig for a patent filing. Should I bother?
I left a large tech megacorp a few years ago and their lawyers recently contacted me to obtain my signature for a foreign patent filing. I'm pretty indifferent to the company but not a huge fan of the patent system. On the other hand, it is a pretty easy ask. I don't see myself working at this company again, but I might, in a pinch. I don't really want this to come to bite me in the ass later.
So, what should I do?
1) Just sign the doc for them
2) Ask for some sort of payment
3) Just ignore it all and hope it goes away?
- dhumph 8y agoSign it and put it on your resume. Even as a filing its something to show to future employers. Not sure how it could bite you in the ass. Of course read it first and make sure it's factual.
- patentaskhn 8y agoThe thing is I don't really need some foreign patent filing to pad my resume.
- __d 8y agoIt sounds like you should just sign it. You're not going to reform the global patent system by refusing to sign it, really you're just going to be a PITA.
- sathomasga 8y agoAssuming the patent is accurate and based on work you did for the company, I’d think that you’re ethically obligated to sign. It seems like the right time to register objections to the patent system was when you were considering whether or not to accept the position.
- patentaskhn 8y agoWhy would I be ethically obligated to sign for it? I was obliged to sign things when I was an employee, but I haven't been for years. Also, do you mean to imply if you have ever taken a paid position in the industry (as essentially every company will have you sign away your patents), then your opinion on software patents can never matter again?
- pnw_hazor 8y agoIn the US, employment or separation agreements usually include language that requires former employees to cooperate in patent matters after they leave the company. (Of course, limited to your inventions made while you were an employee.) Typically, this includes signing formal documents.
- pnw_hazor 8y agoNote, you might have already promised to sign the papers. 1) many employment or separation agreements include terms where the employee agrees to cooperate with such things after they leave. 2) your employment agreement probably assigned your IP rights to the company 3) most (all?) countries have patent application procedures that anticipate uncooperative or unavailable inventors If you refuse to cooperate, you will cost your former employer money while they work through the uncooperative inventor procedures for the country. If it was a US patent application and you did not have a prior obligation to assign your rights, you could refuse to sign, which would block the patent application. Non-US countries offer fewer rights to individual inventors (vs. the company) so it may not matter much.