Dear Evil HR Lady,
I recently joined a young software company. I love the company, and my boss is great. The only thing that worries me is the invention agreement I’ve been asked to sign. It says that anything I create, even anything off company time and without company resources, is theirs. I’m happy to give them anything I’m paid to create, but I feel like anything I create on my own time with my own tools should be mine. How do I avoid signing something I might regret without starting off on the wrong foot with my boss?
To read the answer (which includes advice from the fabulous Donna Ballman) click here: Should I sign that employment contract?
You make changes to the contract that remove the parts about off company time and without company resources.
Gah! Thanks for posting this. I write books and have two blogs. None of my existing or future material I do on my own is anyone’s property but mine.
Now if they are putting this in there to cover anything the OP might create with their concepts in mind, then I can see them thinking they might need this clause. But I think the wording should be changed.