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Beware Employment Contracts
A lot of people think they have no negotiating ability. You do. When you're thinking of signing on with some company, and they send you a boiler-plate contract to sign, don't just sign it and send it back. Read it carefully. Alter it as you see fit, striking out sections, adding sections, and initialing each change. Then sign it, make a copy for yourself, and send it back.
Where it says:
company owns the rights to all work produced during the term of employment
Just strike it out, and change it to:
company owns the rights to code written during working hours and in direct furtherance of any tasks assigned by the company
See how much nicer that reads? Now, when you do this, there are two possibilities: either the company will ignore it and hire you, or they will object to your alteration of the contract. In the second case, if they stand firm on the boiler-plate contract, I suggest you simply ask for more money - for instance, if you were expecting an 8 hour/day job and their contract asserts that they own what you do 24 hours/day, then you'll need at least three times as much salary to compensate.
And if you and the company cannot reach an agreement, well, maybe you didn't want to work for them anyway. If they're already screwing you before you've even signed on, that's not a good omen.
There's already some good advice in the comments on the perlmonks story, so I'll leave it at that.
Here's what's worked for me:
Ask for a copy of their Intellectual Property Agreement before you accept the job. Once you sign on, your negotiating leverage is greatly reduced. Plus, asking in advance signals that you're savvy.
Make a list of what you want to protect. Do you want the freedom to contribute to CPAN on your own time? Do you want the freedom to contribute to an Open Source project? The freedom to write articles? Make a list.
Protect your existing Intellectual Property. Make a list of what you've already done, or have in progress, so that there's a written record of what you're staking prior claim to. Most companys (in Silicon Valley, at least) will ask for such a list, so be prepared.
Update the Agreement. Strike out parts you aren't willing to abide by, and be prepared to offer a story about why this isn't going to be a problem for the company.
Make a low-key Counter. I've found that a low profile counter works best. Hand back a marked up, signed copy of the IP agreement, and say "Here's what I'll agree to. Please look this over," and leave it at that. In 6 out of 7 times I've done this, there's been no pushback. End of story. In only one case, my most recent employer, has a company countered. I was ready with a story about how my side project wouldn't compete with their business objectives, and how it actually enhanced the skill set I was bringing to the table, and they agreed.
Think through what you're willing to give up. The quickest way to feeled screwed by a negotiation is to go into it without knowing what your limits are, and find yourself pushed past them.
Be prepared to use Judo. If they say "our lawyers insist that you sign this," ask "do you work for your lawyers, or do they work for you?" If thay come at you with "we don't want our employees to have side jobs," counter with "contributing to the Perl community isn't a job. It's education. Do you want employees who don't take care about their own education?"
Hmm... So when was the last time you broke the speed limit? Jaywalked?
No punishment? No crime.
I'm not actually under an employment contract
at all. Maybe it's because I'm an at-will
employee, but I'm salaried, and don't recall
signing anything at all stating conditions of
employment. No nondisclosure, no IP stuff,
etc. I *was* hired in a hurry, but it still
amuses me.
For every problem, there is at least one solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
SPRINT!
Am I right? I think I got it.