My hard work belongs to them? Im not having it.

red_ice

Hey, i started working for a company who gave me my contract on monday. After i reviewed the contract, under the "Intellectual Rights" section of the contract it states that while i am under contract, any work what so ever that i produce is property of said company. I havnt studied 3 seperate courses for my work to be property of another company, thats not fair.

I am currently working on a number of side projects in my spare time as a hobby. Some of which i can see having real potential in the consumer market, this stuff really excites me. My work involves programming and web design mainly. i am still in college, and anything i produce for college belongs to them. Including my final year project, which i have been working on for 4 years(its a definite winner which i plan to sell).

So basicly, i cant legally earn any money using the skills which i have developed over the past years, and set my mind on using so that i could dip my fingers into a number of honey pots and pull in as much money as i can while i have my youth by my side.

Thats not really fair now is it?

Well, on further review of the contract i came to notice that i have to let my superiors know if i am working another job. I know the ins and outs of this, so its ok, lets not talk about that. This led me to find a possible loophole in the contract.

If i set up an IT company which is comprised of all my IT skills and so on, mainly the programming, graphic design, web productions of any sort... Can I copyright my work and give full ownership to my company? This way i can market my product and earn a bit on the side. I would deal with sub contracting mainly (being the person who is sub contracted by a friend of mine). Any money i get from that i put in a bank account and leave to cover any debts that would come my way and so on.

To be blunt, i have no business skills what so ever. I dont know the difference between ltd companies and all that stuff. The reason i am posting here is to see if you guys can see my 'loophole' to be correct, also to help me find the cheapest and most stress free (yea right) way to proceed with a company. I wouldnt need a premises, it would be an online company and i would work from home.

Cheers

DJB

Let me get this right... you want to work for a company, get paid by them and if the feeling takes you, leave the company down the road and take everything you did with you? Em... business doesn't work like that... hence why it is in the contract. I would never employ someone on that basis and I can't imagine anyone else either.

If you want the work that you do to always stay yours, find someone with the business skills, set up a business between you and get that person to market your services. You can then have your own contract with companies that you own the intellectual property and you are licensing them to use it.

You can't have your cake and eat it too!

Rgds, Dave

If I've misunderstood, I do apologise!

dahamsta

I think he means work he's doing while he's not working for the company, i.e. evenings and weekends. I think. If not then of course you're right.

adam

jetsonx

There are millions of super-talented people in all disciplines and professions around the world who also happen to work for companies...

Sure, they could leave the security of their company in the morning and setup on their own. But to do this, you will have to be content with no-longer being 100% dedicated to (insert your job here) - you will be a manager of people,money,sales,etc and will not have time to work your art.

Some stick with it - others realize this and come crawling back to their employer.

Re: copyrighting your ideas - your either working for yourself or working for someone else. you decide.

You can't have the best of both worlds.

mik_da_man

I find the clause in your contract a bit strange to be Honest.
I had one in my last job and it stated that anything I work on on company time or using company information/resources/technology belongs to them and I was not allowed to replicate it or move it external to the company without permission.

Anything which I did on my own time using my own resources was mine.

I have since left and started my own Ltd Co and am quite happy - but I did it for reasons other than copyright.

red_ice

DJB wrote: »

Let me get this right... you want to work for a company, get paid by them and if the feeling takes you, leave the company down the road and take everything you did with you? Em... business doesn't work like that... hence why it is in the contract. I would never employ someone on that basis and I can't imagine anyone else either.

The work i do for the company doesnt require design of any sort or programming. Lets just say im a janitor. I clean during the day for a living, but i have to sign this contract to work.

dahamsta wrote: »

I think he means work he's doing while he's not working for the company, i.e. evenings and weekends. I think. If not then of course you're right.

adam

I dont work mondays. However its in my contract that i cant work over 48 hours.. since i dont work mondays, im working 30 hours (for arguements sake). So i have 18 hours that i can work with if i want. If i was working 9-5 monday to friday, i wouldnt be able to work my law because i could be a health risk to my place of work.

jetsonx wrote: »

There are millions of super-talented people in all disciplines and professions around the world who also happen to work for companies...

Sure, they could leave the security of their company in the morning and setup on their own. But to do this, you will have to be content with no-longer being 100% dedicated to (insert your job here) - you will be a manager of people,money,sales,etc and will not have time to work your art.

Some stick with it - others realize this and come crawling back to their employer.

Re: copyrighting your ideas - your either working for yourself or working for someone else. you decide.

You can't have the best of both worlds.

This is it. By me setting up a company, i wont be employing anyone. The only salary i will pay will be my own, which i will pay minimum wage to. If there is any profit, it will go back in the bank for any government debts on that money earned. TBH, the business isnt even something i want to persue at this point in my life. I am only setting it up so that my ideas and hard work arent the property of this new job im taking. Ye see? Im not ready to take on a serious business on its own, i just need to make sure my work is mine and not someone elses. Keep in mind - the work i will do will be IT, in this company i am a "Janitor".

mik_da_man wrote: »

I find the clause in your contract a bit strange to be Honest.
I had one in my last job and it stated that anything I work on on company time or using company information/resources/technology belongs to them and I was not allowed to replicate it or move it external to the company without permission.

Anything which I did on my own time using my own resources was mine.

I have since left and started my own Ltd Co and am quite happy - but I did it for reasons other than copyright.

Thats what im looking for, i dont mind if i do work in that place on(i am in IT) on my payed hours and it is used for the better of the company. As far as im concerned thats fine. But on my time, its my project and its my reward. I've put too much time into my 'craft'(if you will) for it to be milked and abused by some suit.

Any info on the most straight forward company setup?

Sabre0001

I think the contract is basically covering if you do work for that company, they own it...For example - if you write an article, they publish it and it is "theirs", they take the IP.

However, if you were curing cancer at the weekend, they can't hold a right to that...

In college, they own coursework once you submit (like the article metaphor). However, some supervisors may "look the other way" or "forget" about your project and this allows you to take it away and do what you like with it (was told this by a supervisor because of an entrepreneurship module)...

ImDave

It boils down to a case of entrepreneurship vs. intrapreneurship. Do you want to increase your own wealth while running the risk of failure by setting up your own business, or work for someone else, increasing your employers wealth, while hopeing they will some day recognise your work and reward you. It depends what level of risk you are willing to accept. If you have some genuinly good ideas, chances are you will get greater rewards for employing these ideas yourself, rather than for your employers benefit.

red_ice

EI-DAV wrote: »

If you have some genuinly good ideas, chances are you will get greater rewards for employing these ideas yourself, rather than for your employers benefit.

Again, i dont work in the same area as what my company would be set up for. The work doesnt relate to my job. I have 2 mondays off a month, which i will use for my company time... why does everyone say that im doing this on my employers time/pocket for my own good? Im not!

Kristopherus

You're time off work is your own. You can do whatever ( as long as its legal)
Prime example: You work in an accounts dept Mon - Fri. You are a member of Melchester Rovers and play on a semi - pro basis on Sunday. Accounts cannot force you not to play football.

red_ice

yea exactly, but it says in the contract that anything i do is theirs. The girl in HR that i was talking to said her masters is property of the company we work for! Madness!

Im talking to them atm about it and they said they will give me a signed formal letter that will exempt my work from their contract - happy days!

growler

Just ask them to amend the contract so that the cluase referring to the IP rights of any work you do belongs to them refers only to work you produce when being paid by the company. If you're janitor role doesn't have any potential for the creation of IP then the clause could easily be removed.

I doubt the employer will have a problem with this, contract clauses get amended all the time.

Beside, I don't believe they have a legal right to claim any ownership of work you do outside of their employ, unless it could be shown that you used company time / resources to develop it, developed existing company IP yourself etc.

So either ask them to change it, you could point out that you can't really agree to the clause as your college already has a claim on your final project work ... or ignore it, they won't folow you around for life in case you invented something commercial during your spell as part time janitor.