Slashdot Mirror
Countering IP Agreements?
Ghettoimp asks: "I'm a grad student considering an offer for a summer internship with a large software company. The offer is appealing but has a horrible IP agreement which gives them the rights to work I create while I'm there, *and* rights to work I've created in the past. I proposed a counter-agreement but it seems quite clear that the terms are non-negotiable, and I have little reason to believe that this situation is different anywhere else that would be interested in hiring me (e.g., defense contractors, research labs). The agreement does let me list explicit items to exclude from this, and gives me space for four items. I am thinking about instead attaching a list of every program I have ever worked on at all. I know this won't give me any control over what I work on while I'm there, but could this be a viable strategy for keeping ownership of the programs I have already written? I just want to know that I will be able to use, distribute, and talk about my own work in the future without worrying about some ridiculous lawsuit."
I was given a similar IP agreement to sign at one point. And their stated concern was indeed for the protection of the company against future IP claims.
So, given that, I was able to have the agreement ammended to state that the company has a perpetural, transferable, non-exclusive right to use and make derivative works from any such previous software that was not explicitly excluded.
I was much happier with this, and the company had the same protection that they claimed they needed the clause for.
The standard boilerplate IP agreement at almost all companies includes some pretty draconian clauses. There are probably a few companies out there that are fighting the trend, but the standard policy is to ask for more than you think you can actually get. Much of this stuff is unenforceable, and some of it they will alter for you if you are valuable enough to them (i.e., interns need not apply here).
But I've seen requirements in non-compete agreements that prevent you from working in the same industry for a year (or more) after you've stopped working for them, and most IP agreements demand that you help them register patents for ideas you had, on or off company time, using company resources or not, any time you were working for them -- even ideas that are unrelated to the industry.
So I wouldn't suggest running every time you see an unreasonable agreement... more suggestions in a post below.
For the record, most people just sign these things without thinking about them much, and ignore them later. That's fine 99.99% of the time... but in some cases (especially if you leave the company to start a competitor, or play a major role in one...) it *can* come back to bite you, so it's worth a little thought.
For a minimally qualified lawyer that works in the appropriate field, rates are probably in the neighborhood of $100 - 200 hour.
I'd love to know who it is that you've seen charge five grand an hour. He must have the best clients ever.
-- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
No, the ranges I provided are pretty accurate.
And I assure you, there's a lot of good IP lawyers out there, from lots of good schools. But it's hardly as sexy a field as you think it is.
I say this as an IP lawyer, who knows a ton of IP lawyers, and even more lawyers generally.
-- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
The parent was modded insightful?
A few hundred? Where? In Bangalore?
My guess would be that the entry level for getting 15 minutes of ear time from a minimally qualified "Intellectual Property Rights" lawyer, who is a member of the bar in an American state [or the District of Columbia] is gonna be about $5,000.
I regularly have my attorney review contracts (I'm a consultant) and the most I've ever paid was $500 for a 18 page one.