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You're wrong. In the UK, if you develop it in your free time it's yours, as long as you don't use company equipment. However! It can be a clause in your contr
by mattmanser 1y ago
You're wrong.
In the UK, if you develop it in your free time it's yours, as long as you don't use company equipment.
However! It can be a clause in your contract to say sompany owns IP developed in free time, and is enforceable. Sometime there's often an extra clause saying unless an exemption is approved by the board (I assume to stop hirers informally saying 'oh don't worry about that', being legally valid).
I have asked companies to remove that clause and had it removed.
In another company a friend of mine had a small side project that was making money when he joined, and that company were fine waiving the clause. But those were smaller companies who were reasonable, bigger companies might not wiggle.
- ptero 1y agoIMO virtually all tech companies have such clauses that IP employees develop belongs to the company. For example to prevent employees from using their knowledge to build a competitor and and steal clients or similar products at half price. My 2c.
- williamdclt 1y agoI think non-compete clauses and existing company IP are what prevent employees from doing this, not the “anything you do in your free time is our IP” clauses
- chrismorgan 1y agoYeah, it’s completely wrong for Australia too. Never actually seen such a clause in an employment contract either, though I’ve only ever worked for smaller companies. I did once encounter a legally-unenforceable non-compete which I got removed easily. (Wish there was some sort of penalty for illegal contract clauses, because of their chilling effect.)
- worthless-trash 1y agoIts not completely wrong, I have seen it in two of my Australian employment contracts.
- chrismorgan 1y agoReread the comment I was responding to. It’s about what the default is.
- worthless-trash 1y agoI stand by my statement.
- octo888 1y agoIME it's a very common contract clause So de facto they're not that wrong (contract law is law too)
- jxjnskkzxxhx 1y ago> In the UK, if you develop it in your free time it's yours, as long as you don't use company equipment. I'm in the UK. My contract specifically says that anything I produce while employed for the company, even in my free time, is owned by the company. So is your claim that the contract is illegal/unenforceable?
- ukoki 1y agoYour contract is legal and enforceable. The parent commenter is just saying that there's no _automatic_ right to work you do in your free time (ie it has to be specifically mentioned in the contract). You could try and negotiate that clause out of your contract though.