Anyone ever asked by your company to sign Intellectual Property agreement? What is your take on it? Did you sign it?

 

Every job I've had for the last 20 years. If I owned the company every single person working for me would sign one as well, among other things.

 

Technically, if you create something for your home...and make a profit when you sell the house, the company can make claims to it.

 

When I left United Technologies they reminded me that I signed a non-compete agreement when I was hired on and when I quitI wasn't allowed to build any spaceships in my garage and they wanted me to sign a document confirming I understood that.

 

So you're not allowed to apply your knowledge gained on the job to anything ever again? What if you teach someone else, then they teach it back to you, then you build your spaceship?
Is that illegal?

 

the company can only make claims to it if they can prove that your ability to create and profit from something was soley earned/learned by working at/for that company

its easy to prove if you are infringing on copyright laws.....but general knowledge and skills aquired are very difficult to prove.....especially if its a trade based knowledge/skill

 

Like the Bratz dolls that are being pulled from the shelves. Check into that story and lawsuit for details.

 

I think I wasn't allowed to work for anyone besides NASA or a NASA subcontractor for 1 year in the capacity of Solid Rocket Booster production. But Iam sure that I wasn't allowed to launch spaceships from my house right away and compete against NASA. The document was written kind of poorly and it always erred in favor of the company/government.

 

I'd just sign it with a fake name. Personally, I am against the idea that ideas and knowledge can become property.

 

Then flipping burgers might be a good career choice. If you want a job in fields that require this kind of agreement then you either play by their rules or go elsewhere.