5 ms·

It is the UK. I know that probably in some jurisdictions some of these clauses are unenforceable. I just don't want to step in a legal mess. I know a friend of

by shmel 6y ago

It is the UK. I know that probably in some jurisdictions some of these clauses are unenforceable. I just don't want to step in a legal mess. I know a friend of mine (in France btw) had to argue with his company about this even though he obtained a verbal agreement beforehand. It is just that he was about to quit and the employer decided to fuck with him as much as possible.

cnity 6y ago
Are you sure? The line "in the course of your employment" is often misinterpreted to mean "while hired here". In fact it means something like "while doing something that is specifically required to do your job properly"[0] [0]: Australian site, but relevant: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/protecting-business/ip-kit/browse-ip-topics/ownership-of-intellectual-property-created-by-your-employees-and-contractors-or-consultants/ownership#:~:text=As%20a%20general%20rule%2C%20an,the%20employee%2C%20not%20the%20employer https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/protecting-....
- shmel 6y ago
  yes. My contract clarifies clearly "whether or not during working hours, whether or not using company's equipment". It could be difficult to enforce, but I wouldn't want to check.
  - cnity 6y ago
    Yes, but does it say "in the course of your employment"? The "whether or not during working hours/using company's equipment" part just covers the case where you are working late, etc. If your contract contains the phrase "in the course of your employment", then you can still work on a hobby project and it remains yours, because you didn't work on the hobby project "in the course of your employment" (you were not asked to build the hobby project)
C1sc0cat 6y ago
Pretty much every jurisdiction will have some law about this. A lot of labour law is derived from "Master and Servant" Laws.
DoingIsLearning 6y ago
(not legal advice but) I am pretty sure that employment contract 'IP clauses' in the UK can only capture provisions within your employee 'duties'. So if for example you work in R&D for a trading algo fin-tech company, the company has no say in any 'Image Processing' IP you produce out-of-office if you wanted to contribute to ffmpeg or similar projects.
- gryn 6y ago
  In France at least, that point is kinda moot. most of the companies hiring (SSIIs) are contracting body shops that have no specific specialization, so the company's field of work is just 'engineering' or IT / computer science.

by shmel 6y ago

cnity 6y ago

Are you sure? The line "in the course of your employment" is often misinterpreted to mean "while hired here". In fact it means something like "while doing something that is specifically required to do your job properly"[0] [0]: Australian site, but relevant: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/protecting-business/ip-kit/browse-ip-topics/ownership-of-intellectual-property-created-by-your-employees-and-contractors-or-consultants/ownership#:~:text=As%20a%20general%20rule%2C%20an,the%20employee%2C%20not%20the%20employer https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/protecting-....

shmel 6y ago
yes. My contract clarifies clearly "whether or not during working hours, whether or not using company's equipment". It could be difficult to enforce, but I wouldn't want to check.
- cnity 6y ago
  Yes, but does it say "in the course of your employment"? The "whether or not during working hours/using company's equipment" part just covers the case where you are working late, etc. If your contract contains the phrase "in the course of your employment", then you can still work on a hobby project and it remains yours, because you didn't work on the hobby project "in the course of your employment" (you were not asked to build the hobby project)

C1sc0cat 6y ago

Pretty much every jurisdiction will have some law about this. A lot of labour law is derived from "Master and Servant" Laws.

DoingIsLearning 6y ago

(not legal advice but) I am pretty sure that employment contract 'IP clauses' in the UK can only capture provisions within your employee 'duties'. So if for example you work in R&D for a trading algo fin-tech company, the company has no say in any 'Image Processing' IP you produce out-of-office if you wanted to contribute to ffmpeg or similar projects.

gryn 6y ago
In France at least, that point is kinda moot. most of the companies hiring (SSIIs) are contracting body shops that have no specific specialization, so the company's field of work is just 'engineering' or IT / computer science.