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I'm kind of mind-blown reading this thread. Right now I'm working on a product of my own, and I'm currently employed. The product has absolutely-zero-nada-nothi

I'm kind of mind-blown reading this thread. Right now I'm working on a product of my own, and I'm currently employed. The product has absolutely-zero-nada-nothing to do with what my company does, I do it on my own time, with my own money, with my own machine. Are you saying that I still may not be legally in the clear? If so, that is incredibly insane, and I can't believe clauses like that actually exist. Not sure how I made it this far without knowing this was a thing, but goddamn that's infuriating. edit: brb gonna go sift through all the shit I signed when I joined

jchw 7y ago
Even if you are legally in the clear, your company’s lawyers could still try to fight for it anyways. Make sure you Never use company resources, and next time, consider getting a copyright assignment exemption before beginning work. The reality is that it probably isn’t really likely all companies are out to steal your personal work through dubious copyright assignment agreements, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be super aggressive.
- saluki 7y ago
  Not a lawyer but I would probably just keep all side projects on the down low, don't draw attention by asking for a copyright assignment exemption, don't develop it at work or even log in via a company pc or phone. Don't mention it to co-workers. Keep your name off of it on the public side. Keep it anonymous. I expect you could even use a 'pen name' if you wanted to, if you need to be visible, do podcasts, etc. Most of your side projects aren't going to amount to anything anyway but if you keep it anonymous the chances of your company approaching you about it after you leave are very small. Even if it turns in to a success.
madeofpalk 7y ago
Read your employment contract, see if it contains this Sex Tape Clause
dahart 7y ago
> The product has absolutely-zero-nada-nothing to do with what my company does Be careful about declaring your side project unrelated to work. Your definition of unrelated might not match your company’s definition. If you are programming for your company, and programming for your side project, they’re related at that level at least. I realize they might still be 100% orthogonal, but your employer and the law don’t usually see things the same way you do. For my last two jobs, I had a side-project before I interviewed, and when it came time to decide on their offer, I had a lawyer write an exclusion for my side-project, legally declaring it unrelated to the company’s business and legally allowing me to moonlight. Getting the lawyer to write it up seemed expensive before I did it, and then seemed like it was both inexpensive and invaluable insurance after I did it. Both companies signed and gave me offers. Asking for the exclusion didn’t seem to hurt my prospects. On the positive good-news side, you probably are legally in the clear. And also, most companies don’t initiate legal action against employees with side projects. In the few cases I know about where legal action happened, there was more to the story and/or the side project was clearly related to the company’s business.
navigatesol 7y ago
>Are you saying that I still may not be legally in the clear? You're not necessarily guilty of anything per se, but if your company decides to sue you, they have that right. It's standard practice to include this in employment contracts as protection, but it'll be up to the court to decide if what you worked on actually falls under the umbrella of your employer's IP. In practice, the company can't blanket tell you you can't work on anything, ever.
house9-2 7y ago
If you are in California you should be fine; of course there is a good chance you aren't so good luck. https://www.employmentrightscalifornia.com/can-my-california-employer-enforce-a-non-compete-agreement/ https://www.employmentrightscalifornia.com/can-my-california...
busymom0 7y ago
One thing I would mention is to check your state/city/province/country laws etc. I am not 100% certain but I remember reading in California such clauses aren’t allowed so you can do whatever you like in your own time or something. Double check though.

jchw 7y ago

Even if you are legally in the clear, your company’s lawyers could still try to fight for it anyways. Make sure you Never use company resources, and next time, consider getting a copyright assignment exemption before beginning work. The reality is that it probably isn’t really likely all companies are out to steal your personal work through dubious copyright assignment agreements, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be super aggressive.

saluki 7y ago
Not a lawyer but I would probably just keep all side projects on the down low, don't draw attention by asking for a copyright assignment exemption, don't develop it at work or even log in via a company pc or phone. Don't mention it to co-workers. Keep your name off of it on the public side. Keep it anonymous. I expect you could even use a 'pen name' if you wanted to, if you need to be visible, do podcasts, etc. Most of your side projects aren't going to amount to anything anyway but if you keep it anonymous the chances of your company approaching you about it after you leave are very small. Even if it turns in to a success.

madeofpalk 7y ago

Read your employment contract, see if it contains this Sex Tape Clause

dahart 7y ago

> The product has absolutely-zero-nada-nothing to do with what my company does Be careful about declaring your side project unrelated to work. Your definition of unrelated might not match your company’s definition. If you are programming for your company, and programming for your side project, they’re related at that level at least. I realize they might still be 100% orthogonal, but your employer and the law don’t usually see things the same way you do. For my last two jobs, I had a side-project before I interviewed, and when it came time to decide on their offer, I had a lawyer write an exclusion for my side-project, legally declaring it unrelated to the company’s business and legally allowing me to moonlight. Getting the lawyer to write it up seemed expensive before I did it, and then seemed like it was both inexpensive and invaluable insurance after I did it. Both companies signed and gave me offers. Asking for the exclusion didn’t seem to hurt my prospects. On the positive good-news side, you probably are legally in the clear. And also, most companies don’t initiate legal action against employees with side projects. In the few cases I know about where legal action happened, there was more to the story and/or the side project was clearly related to the company’s business.

navigatesol 7y ago

>Are you saying that I still may not be legally in the clear? You're not necessarily guilty of anything per se, but if your company decides to sue you, they have that right. It's standard practice to include this in employment contracts as protection, but it'll be up to the court to decide if what you worked on actually falls under the umbrella of your employer's IP. In practice, the company can't blanket tell you you can't work on anything, ever.

house9-2 7y ago

If you are in California you should be fine; of course there is a good chance you aren't so good luck. https://www.employmentrightscalifornia.com/can-my-california-employer-enforce-a-non-compete-agreement/ https://www.employmentrightscalifornia.com/can-my-california...

busymom0 7y ago

One thing I would mention is to check your state/city/province/country laws etc. I am not 100% certain but I remember reading in California such clauses aren’t allowed so you can do whatever you like in your own time or something. Double check though.