> From: Matthew Byng-Maddick [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
<snip>
> I was having this discussion with my housemate last night. I feel that
> given my company pay me to code, then it is totally
> reasonable that they
> own the code that I produce for the hours they pay me.
>
> The question comes about the out of hours work, and your *ideas*.
>
I don't have a problem with them owning the code that I write as part of my
job. And as far as I can work out, any code I write outside of work that is
not explicitly for the company is mine.
However any patentable ideas I have at any time which may relate to anything
the company (or one the companies in the group) does, I have to tell them
about, help them to patent it, and help them to protect that patent at any
time in the future.
> I'd be surprised if the clauses about looking for work (given
> the way it's phrased) would stand up in an industrial tribunal, although I
> can see their point from the moonlighting.
Unfortunately they've made the clause so broad and vague that it is likely
to be ruled as unfair an therefore no longer binding. Surely a decent
employment/contract lawyer should be able to come up with something that
isn't so far reaching.
> With respect to the first part again, I think that the part that the
> companies have a right to is *the implementation of the idea
> that you write for them*.
Agreed
> If you have an idea for something, and code it in your own time,
> then I don't see that they could possibly (even under the
> contract) lay claim to it, as it would probably come under the Unfair
Contracts
> legislation)
That probably wont stop them from trying
Rob
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