Ask HN: How to talk to my employer about side projects and IP?
2 comments
Talk to a lawyer first and find out what your rights are under law (in the U.S., laws vary from state to state) and whether the IP clauses in your contract are enforceable. If your side project ends up being successful, there may be a lot of money at stake here, so a consultation with a lawyer would be well worth the expense.
Of course, the best result is that you come to a friendly agreement with your employer and not have to go to court to litigate ownership of your work. If, after talking to the lawyer, you find your employer is hostile to the idea, you might want to consider looking for a job with a more enlightened company.
If you do come to an agreement with your employer, you should probably get it in writing (e.g., as a signed amendment to your terms of employment). Otherwise, they could come back in a few years and claim the agreement never happened. Again, this is something your lawyer can help you with.
Of course, the best result is that you come to a friendly agreement with your employer and not have to go to court to litigate ownership of your work. If, after talking to the lawyer, you find your employer is hostile to the idea, you might want to consider looking for a job with a more enlightened company.
If you do come to an agreement with your employer, you should probably get it in writing (e.g., as a signed amendment to your terms of employment). Otherwise, they could come back in a few years and claim the agreement never happened. Again, this is something your lawyer can help you with.
Your employer doesn't own you outside work hours
They may not own you, but they may own your work if you use your company laptop, or if your product uses their trade secrets, or if you signed an enforceable contract agreeing that they own your work. There are many legal complications in this area.
I work in software development at a large retail company and would like to pursue a side project that may one day evolve into a business of its own. Unfortunately, my employment contract says that my employer owns anything that I work on while in their employ. I'd like to pursue some kind of change in my employment agreement, so that I can work on this side project without worrying about potential complications if it ever becomes successful.
FWIW, my side project is a SAAS product that is unrelated to the core business of my employer and I don't think my employer would ever try to exercise its rights over my work. But I want to avoid any issues I might have if I try to bring on investors down the road or even sell the company.
How should I go about having this conversation with my employer?