Fine line of intellectual property
Fine line of intellectual property
(OP)
An employee intends to quit and start his own business. He accumulated knowledge at work and has ideas that are not used by his employer. His new company will compete directly with his present employer, especially with new products based on these ideas. What is illegal and what is unethical in this situation.
Thanks for your time and advice.
Thanks for your time and advice.





RE: Fine line of intellectual property
RE: Fine line of intellectual property
RE: Fine line of intellectual property
As far as competing, that depends on any agreements you may have signed. Many states and provinces also have laws that protect you from "restraint of trade".
RE: Fine line of intellectual property
Typically, employers claim all intellectual rights to anything developed as an offshoot from anything work-related. Unless your employer has given you written right of usage, you run the risk of getting sued for theft of IP. Good documentation is usually critical to determining the primacy of claims to IP.
TTFN
RE: Fine line of intellectual property
You need the advice of a intellectual property lawyer, not your brother engineers.
dbuzz
RE: Fine line of intellectual property
RE: Fine line of intellectual property
RE: Fine line of intellectual property
RE: Fine line of intellectual property
However, if I had signed it then I would certainly be behaving illegally if I set up in competition with them using ideas related to my job with them. I think it would also be unethical, unless those ideas had been offered to, and rejected by, my current employer.
Cheers
Greg Locock
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: Fine line of intellectual property
Hg
Eng-Tips guidelines: FAQ731-376
RE: Fine line of intellectual property
Previous time they (different they) just agreed it was stupid and accepted the change.
Cheers
Greg Locock
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: Fine line of intellectual property
Ethically, I would not use something I came up with for a previous employer. If you sign papers saying you will not use anything, at least in my estimation, they could cuse a load of grief by saying you had come up with it in your off hours prior to leaving. It wouldnt hold up in court, but could ruin your carreer and finances trying to defend.
So far, at least with my employers, modifying the contract has not kept me from a job.
RE: Fine line of intellectual property
The same with noncompete agreements. I am not a moral relativist, and you need to live by what you agree to, but you also have to make a living somehow. Even the Master violated the Sabbath to feed hungry people.
William