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Is this legal?

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  • May 4th, 2006 11:08 am
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Deal Expert
Aug 26, 2001
18145 posts
1741 upvotes
Mississauga, ON

Is this legal?

I found something to this effect on a job offer contract:
PATENT AND COPYRIGHT
Any technical development, invention, idea, software, or method of work associated with the business of the Company, devised by an employee during service or thereafter shall belong to the Company and all proprietary rights therein shall be owned and assigned to the Company.
Now why is the "or thereafter" there? Are they saying that any idea/software I come up with after I leave the Company, still belongs to the Company? What's up with that?
2 replies
Deal Addict
User avatar
Aug 8, 2005
3467 posts
187 upvotes
GTA
I would say the key phrase there is "associated with the business or the company". So if you develop something that is a direct result of work you did at said company, they could argue that they own all or part of it, but if you come up with something in your free time or after you leave that is totally unrelated to anything that your company does then it's fine. That would be my reading of that clause. I've seen this or something like it written in many contracts. I think it's mostly to avoid you working for the competition or developing something using company resources/time and then leaving with it to sell it to a higher bidder.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Nov 15, 2005
8840 posts
Vancouver
Yes if it's associated with the company.

Edit: Doh! Squiggles beat me by a few seconds..
Beans, beans, the magically fruit. The more you eat, the more you toot. The more you toot, the better you feel. So eat your beans at every meal.

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