3 ms·

No. My obligations to the employer end at the termination of my employment and whenever through the course of the day I'm not working for them. How I choose to

No. My obligations to the employer end at the termination of my employment and whenever through the course of the day I'm not working for them. How I choose to spend that time is none of their business so long as I don't do anything that can be construed in a way that implies I represent them. For example, if I say, to be silly, work at hotdog on a stick and do adult dancing with the company provided uniform, that would probably cross the line. If they then fire me and I continue to do the dancing in uniform, fair game.

wizzwizz4 4y ago
Unless Hotdog on a Stick has a Class 41 trademark on their uniform / logo, in which case you might be committing trademark infringement.
- kristopolous 4y ago
  I'd like to claim it's always fair use/parody regardless - nobody could in good faith, mistake an adult entertainment stage for the iconic restaurant. The difference is in my obligations to my employer, which are released when I am. I'm certainly not a lawyer and this is all totally unfounded intuition. But that was also the terms of the discussion
  - maxerickson 4y ago
    In a much more mundane scenario, I treated the company provided clothing as company property and returned it when I left the role. I doubt they cared, but my position was that I didn't care to ever think about it again, so I did the easy thing and stuck it all in the locker.
  - wizzwizz4 4y ago
    If they don't have a Class 41 registration, I believe this is the legal dogma – but if they do, no amount of fair use or parody lets you use their mark on a Class 41 service without authorisation. Fair use / parody is US copyright, not trademark. I tried to check whether Hotdog on a Stick had Class 41 registration, but USPTO's TESS has got to be the worst trademark search system I've ever used. I've seen more distinct error pages than useful results, and can't even find their Class 43 registration.

wizzwizz4 4y ago

Unless Hotdog on a Stick has a Class 41 trademark on their uniform / logo, in which case you might be committing trademark infringement.

kristopolous 4y ago
I'd like to claim it's always fair use/parody regardless - nobody could in good faith, mistake an adult entertainment stage for the iconic restaurant. The difference is in my obligations to my employer, which are released when I am. I'm certainly not a lawyer and this is all totally unfounded intuition. But that was also the terms of the discussion
- maxerickson 4y ago
  In a much more mundane scenario, I treated the company provided clothing as company property and returned it when I left the role. I doubt they cared, but my position was that I didn't care to ever think about it again, so I did the easy thing and stuck it all in the locker.
- wizzwizz4 4y ago
  If they don't have a Class 41 registration, I believe this is the legal dogma – but if they do, no amount of fair use or parody lets you use their mark on a Class 41 service without authorisation. Fair use / parody is US copyright, not trademark. I tried to check whether Hotdog on a Stick had Class 41 registration, but USPTO's TESS has got to be the worst trademark search system I've ever used. I've seen more distinct error pages than useful results, and can't even find their Class 43 registration.