3 ms·

I was speaking in the specific context of ideas. Clearly, sensitive data should be protected, and an NDA is a good legal control for that. But I don't believe

I was speaking in the specific context of ideas. Clearly, sensitive data should be protected, and an NDA is a good legal control for that. But I don't believe that an idea is worthy of an NDA, and therefore that so-misnamed "IP" would be "flush[ed] down the toilet" just because you happened to discuss the topic with a family member. Rather, I believe that what matters is whether and how you implement the idea. Being first to market gives you the added security of fully understanding the idea and being able to improve it as you go along - while competitors are left behind trying to understand the idea. Execution, as they say, is everything. You don't need a government-granted monopoly to do that. (That said, I think the whole government-granted monopoly idea is fundamentally flawed.)

jasomill 14y ago
Except in the context of software development, specifically, it's not generally just "an idea." It's the sum total of all unpublished and unannounced information of unreleased products that you're being given access to as a developer. There may not even be any plans to file patents: you have to take affirmative steps to maintain trade secret protection, as well. But, among other things, trade secrets have to be reasonably specific, certainly more so than "everything you learn about our products in the course of employment", and, well, "secrets" to begin with (not merely "unannounced" or "unpublished"). Confidential business information like customer lists, on the other hand, tends to be protected even in the absence of a written agreement; a good contract lawyer can quickly pick out the potentially troubling bits of an employment-related contract from the mass of "mostly harmless" boilerplate that merely restates your obligations under various laws (often including amusingly obvious items like not stealing physical property from the company and returning company-owned equipment upon request). Finally, many companies have agreements with third parties that require measures to ensure employees and contractors given access to third-party confidential information (of various sorts) hold it in confidence.

jasomill 14y ago

Except in the context of software development, specifically, it's not generally just "an idea." It's the sum total of all unpublished and unannounced information of unreleased products that you're being given access to as a developer. There may not even be any plans to file patents: you have to take affirmative steps to maintain trade secret protection, as well. But, among other things, trade secrets have to be reasonably specific, certainly more so than "everything you learn about our products in the course of employment", and, well, "secrets" to begin with (not merely "unannounced" or "unpublished"). Confidential business information like customer lists, on the other hand, tends to be protected even in the absence of a written agreement; a good contract lawyer can quickly pick out the potentially troubling bits of an employment-related contract from the mass of "mostly harmless" boilerplate that merely restates your obligations under various laws (often including amusingly obvious items like not stealing physical property from the company and returning company-owned equipment upon request). Finally, many companies have agreements with third parties that require measures to ensure employees and contractors given access to third-party confidential information (of various sorts) hold it in confidence.