Dealing With an Overly-Restrictive Intellectual Property Policy? 467
An anonymous reader writes "I am very happy with my current job, but there have always been a few ideas for things I've wanted to develop on the side. Ideally I'd keep my day job, reserving mornings, evenings and weekends to see if the side-projects could become viable. The problem is: my employer has an IP policy that states that anything I do while under their employ is theirs, even when I'm off the clock. Does anyone have suggestions about workarounds, magic loopholes, false identity for the side projects? Anything?"
Re:Two mostly similar choices (Score:5, Funny)
At least in academia most places let you separate your work on the side. If you want to use your work on the side as part of your research work well that's where you get into your situation.
I wouldn't trust that to be the case everywhere - my recollection is of research grants / studentships coming with "everything you do while you get this grant belongs to...". Plus you had to co-operate in patenting it if they wanted and sign over the patents. etc.
That was a lot of years ago though - maybe it's all more enlightened, less money focused and less bureaucratic in academia these days...
Re:A Contract Is What? (Score:4, Funny)
"Pray I do not modify it again."
Re:Two mostly similar choices (Score:3, Funny)
a short-order cook cannot work from the toilet
Thank you so much for that image. You have aided my weight-loss program at the expense of my peace of mind.
Re:Two mostly similar choices (Score:5, Funny)
you and at most a few others would have to get together and form a legal entity that could then hold that copywright. We could call it a grouporation or a cooperative relationship or something. You'll probably want to make sure you have someone to manage the inventors and some people to help find other talented inventors so you may want to make a people resources department. You'll need to take in some money to get everything started and you'll want some people that can manage it for you so you'll want to hire some money counting people. You'll want to sell your invention so maybe you could have a whole depart^H^H^H^H^Hsection of product price negotiator people. You'll probably want more people to help manage some of these things too. Just as long as it's not a corporation that holds these patents and copywrites.
Re:Two mostly similar choices (Score:4, Funny)
He was most unimpressed when we discovered that we could get to the cistern from the cleaning cupboard and flush the bog under him :D