I’ve worked with several corporations, and each ask you to sign an agreement to basically give them the right to your intellectual property and copyrights EVEN for projects totally done off-the-clock, etc. And, these waivers do not expire. So, my question is, if one signs such an agreement with Company “A” and later goes to work for Company “B” where a similar agreement is signed AND such a patent is grabbed up by Company “B” as the assignee, where does Company “A” stand?
This could get really messy if one works with many companies over the years!
So it looks like my position is depends on the meaning of “in the course of your employment”. I don’t see how a company could claim rights over your work if done out of hours at home and not on company kit. Anyhow how could they establish when you invented your secret process, couldn’t you claim you came up with it before you even joined?
And
How the heck does that work, they surely can’t have any hold on work you do after you move on? Any lawyers care to explain?
If you quit or are fired, this ends the course of youe employment. If your job was doing new electric thingamabobs and a the next day after termination, you create a better mousetrap using aaa batteries, one may reasonably assume it was conceived on the clock, but if you create a new and improved toothpaste…
Like non-compete clauses in one’s contract, the scope cannot be overly broad and are subject to reasonableness, a time limit and to some kind of remuneration.
If you go to work for company B after leaving company A, then the argument would be between A and B since you don’t own the work in either case. You would merely be a witness as to when the work was done which is why most companies insist that you keep a notebook that gets reviewed and witnessed every so often. That’s proof of when the work was done.