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Ralph is using hyperbole to make a valid point. A company shouldn't put its employees in a position where they squirrel away their best ideas for their own futu

Ralph is using hyperbole to make a valid point. A company shouldn't put its employees in a position where they squirrel away their best ideas for their own future use in an imagined startup. A company can help avoid that by properly rewarding their employees. That's basic. But suppose you give your company a great idea but it doesn't run with it for some reason. Do you think you're going to be rewarded? Not likely. And yet now your company owns that idea insofar as it qualifies as an invention if it has such a clause in its employment agreement. That's not even getting into the invention assignment agreements many companies ask you to sign where in principle you have to list all inventions you have ever conceived prior to joining the company. The reasoning is that if you reuse an older idea of yours at the company and it wasn't listed on that disclosure form, they can now lay claim to it. I'm not sure if that's enforceable, but it's an unfortunately commonplace piece of legal boilerplate.

gyardley 15y ago
Because it doesn't want the distraction and/or doesn't have the resources to pursue them, your employer's unlikely to ask for or want ideas unrelated to its business. Because you're an ethical person and/or have a good appreciation of the legal risks, you're unlikely to try and implement ideas related to your employer's business. Because of the above, 'squirreling away ideas for a future startup' should only very rarely be an issue. Certainly not a company-breaker. Having to explain why you've abandon a standard and uncontroversial bit of IP protection to your potential investors - now there's a potential company-breaker.
- psykotic 15y ago
  It's your choice what you put in your employment agreements. If you want to include jus primae noctis, go for it! Just don't expect people like me to work for you.
cube13 15y ago
>And yet now your company owns that idea insofar as it qualifies as an invention if it has such a clause in its employment agreement. Actually, if you're an employee, and you work on that idea to the company during business hours, they own it, period. That's what being an employee means. If you're a contractor, it's a different story.
- psykotic 15y ago
  I wasn't talking about developing the idea on company time. As I mentioned in another post, that clearly marks an idea for company ownership.
  - URSpider94 15y ago
    And what, pray tell, is company time? Do things I think up during my 11 PM conference calls count? How about if I duck out during the day to see my kid's play at school? Company time is a fiction that no longer holds water.
    - psykotic 15y ago
      I honestly don't care all that much about the exact legal demarcation. What matters most to me is the attitude the idea implies.

gyardley 15y ago

Because it doesn't want the distraction and/or doesn't have the resources to pursue them, your employer's unlikely to ask for or want ideas unrelated to its business. Because you're an ethical person and/or have a good appreciation of the legal risks, you're unlikely to try and implement ideas related to your employer's business. Because of the above, 'squirreling away ideas for a future startup' should only very rarely be an issue. Certainly not a company-breaker. Having to explain why you've abandon a standard and uncontroversial bit of IP protection to your potential investors - now there's a potential company-breaker.

psykotic 15y ago
It's your choice what you put in your employment agreements. If you want to include jus primae noctis, go for it! Just don't expect people like me to work for you.

cube13 15y ago

>And yet now your company owns that idea insofar as it qualifies as an invention if it has such a clause in its employment agreement. Actually, if you're an employee, and you work on that idea to the company during business hours, they own it, period. That's what being an employee means. If you're a contractor, it's a different story.

psykotic 15y ago
I wasn't talking about developing the idea on company time. As I mentioned in another post, that clearly marks an idea for company ownership.
- URSpider94 15y ago
  And what, pray tell, is company time? Do things I think up during my 11 PM conference calls count? How about if I duck out during the day to see my kid's play at school? Company time is a fiction that no longer holds water.
  - psykotic 15y ago
    I honestly don't care all that much about the exact legal demarcation. What matters most to me is the attitude the idea implies.