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Should Inventions Be Automatically Owned By Your Employer?
An anonymous reader writes "Joshua Simmons authored an article for the N.Y.U. Journal of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law. The article is a comparison of the developments in copyright law and patent law in the nineteenth century that resulted in copyright law developing a work made for hire doctrine while patent law only developed a patch work of judge-made employment doctrines. The article theorizes that patent law did not develop an inventions made for hire doctrine, because inventive activity was almost exclusively perceived to be performed by individuals. It goes on to suggest that, as patentable inventions today are generally perceived to be invented collaboratively, the Patent Act should be amended to borrow from the Copyright Act and adopt a principle similar to the work made for hire doctrine."
If you've invented this on your own time, money, and resources there is no way in the shady side of hell that your employer should have any ownership of it. If you did this while being compensated by your employer, the situation is different. If you've used your employer's money and resources, then it is fair.
Employers have enough power to force employees to sign contracts as a condition of employment not unlike what you'd find in an EULA. No signature, no job.
So it doesn't really matter in the long run what laws we pass unless we make it illegal for employers to ask for certain concessions.
Your employer absolutely should be entitled to any IP you produce ... *if* they're paying you for 168/hours a week. If it's only 40 hours/week then there has to be room for you to do your thing on the time that belongs to you. I hate it (and refuse to sign -- cost me a great job once) when they try to just stick a catchall into your employee contract. Contracts are supposed to be quid pro quo deals, not quid pro nothing.
Otherwise, how would Edison have invented so many things?
That's easy, by being a patent clerk and being the worlds first patent troll.
Om, nomnomnom...
Wrong, you are paid to do what you are paid to do. Inventions can only be owned by your employer if you are paid to sit on your arse all day long thinking and trying to invent things. If you are paid to code they own the code, not any inventions. If you are paid to calculate they own the product of the calculations not any inventions. Of course not to forget fuck all catch all clauses as they are clearly false in intent and there is no way they can claim when you invented anything, their paid for time or in your time. You or your mind is never, ever a slave to someone else's greed, regardless what psychopath corporate douche bags like Thomas Edison try to write in contracts so that they can publicly claim to invent things other people actually did.
Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
"Gee, Bank of America, I'm sorry I don't have a job and can't pay my mortgage, but you'll be happy to know that I turned down a gig on principle!"
Yeah, see how far that gets you. Not to mention, if you're collecting unemployment benefits and you turn down a job, you disqualify yourself from any further benefits.
Then there's the whole "US health insurance industry" problem, where getting cancer while not insured is fatal to either yourself or your entire economic identity. Most people don't have any choice but to get health insurance through their employer and, thanks to the for-profit health insurance industry, paying for your care out-of-pocket will cost you everything you own.
Yeah, you'll be taking what we offer and you'll like it. If you don't like the language in the employment agreement, I'm sure we'll find someone that does.
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.