Dealing With an Overly-Restrictive Intellectual Property Policy?

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?"

Comments

Two mostly similar choices

[Anonymous Coward]

Disclaimer: Where I work they are cool with "moonlighting", with the stipulation being that you must check with legal. Never been in this situation so this is largely guess work based on stories I've heard from others!

The obvious is of course to get a new job. I'm sure lots of people are going to recommend that, but of course it is rarely that simple.. especially in this economy and you like where you are working now.

The less obvious is to negotiate with your employer/your employers legal department. Just be cognisant of the fact that this may inadvertently force you into option 1. If the terms of your employment are there just to cover their ass.. you might be able to work something out if your ideas arn't within their business area. Just keep in mind that you are asking to work on something that you hope will lead to you resigning and pursing full time (I assume) and they may have a problem with that as well.

I guess the real question is, how sold on your own ideas are you? Willing to risk your job?... because I really don't see a way of persuing this that doesn't end there.

Re:Two mostly similar choices

[Anonymous Coward]

Simply put, they're hiring you for your mind

No, my employer is hiring me to do work. If they can't tell me ahead of time what work they want done, they have no claim on it.

and if you've got a great idea, like it or not you'll be thinking about it during work hours.

I think about a lot of things during work hours. As long as I'm not wasting work time just thinking about stuff, they have no reason to complain and no right to dictate what I can or can't think about.

Re:Two mostly similar choices

[TheGavster]

The feeling among engineers at my current place of employment is very similar (that the job is basically McDonald's but with much better pay and no customer interaction). While it is certainly something that an employer can encourage through policy (having salaried workers still punch an hourly clock, lack of input into future work ...), I think that this attitude represents a lot of what's wrong with the modern intellectual workforce.

McDonald's pays people by the hour because there is a clear distinction between work and not-work, and they pay you to be in work mode for x hours. Work/life separation is more difficult with engineering work (eg, a short-order cook cannot work from the toilet, but an engineer may have a leap of insight there). I think that an effort is required from both sides to make the most of a worker's mind.

The first step is likely best taken from the employers' side; at all of the firms I know engineers at, they punch an hourly clock and are charged vacation time when they don't make 40 hours in week. A true salaried worker should be paid a fixed sum per week, staying late when a task is down to the wire, but at the same time leaving early (or for part of the day) when waiting on data or between projects. The hourly mindset leads to people sitting around waiting for an arbitrary time to arrive, or checking out before the job is done.

Re:Two mostly similar choices

[epyT-R]

no, he is not not their bitch. he is their employee. there is supposed to be a difference, though in today's world things like individual liberty and life balance are dying out in favor of unhealthy social dynamics. I think the bigger point is that employers should not have the right to expect or have such control.. it blurs the line between employee and slave. agreeing to stuff in a contract under duress (which this is since the choice is work or don't eat) is morally questionable at least, and probably against the law.

A Contract Is What?

[Anonymous Coward]

Next time, modify the agreement before you sign it.

Re:A Contract Is What?

[St.Creed]

I used to think that as well. Until I came to be in the position to make demands and say "well, too bad" when they didn't want to meet them. As it turned out, if your demands are reasonable, you're probably going to get most of them approved.

No contract is ever boilerplate. Sure, they have a template. Usually you will find very few people with the contract as originally proposed.

That having said, being freelancer I can appreciate the IP issues. So what I normally do is tell people in advance which projects I'm working on, and are mine. Just titles and a very short summary. Never had a problem with that.

I can also appreciate an employer not liking his workers to moonlight. It always spills over into your normal day job, even if it is just lack of sleep because you were so stoked from your new idea that you couldn't sleep. It always affects them. An open discussion about this, showing you understand those issues and how you will make sure they are mitigated, will usually go down well. Not always though - understand how your boss operates before doing anything.