Intellectual Property Question

[myDeaconmyhand]

Hypothetical question about corporate employer rights to intellectual property - If you have a personal computer but use a corporate license for online word processing software, does the corporation own the intellectual property that’s created with that corporate licensed software? Does it matter where the work is stored?

Also, if you access employer software on your personal phone, and you sign an agreement that allows your employer to remotely wipe your phone, does that give your employer any claim to intellectual property on your phone?

 

[dartsndeacs]

I don’t think your employer is going to make a claim on your onlyfans content and scripts


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[Liquid Karma]

Hypothetical question about corporate employer rights to intellectual property - If you have a personal computer but use a corporate license for online word processing software, does the corporation own the intellectual property that’s created with that corporate licensed software? Does it matter where the work is stored?

Also, if you access employer software on your personal phone, and you sign an agreement that allows your employer to remotely wipe your phone, does that give your employer any claim to intellectual property on your phone?

This was almost the premise of season 1 of Silicon Valley.

 

[deacdiggler]

my gut is no....you're not being paid to create that content. just because it was created on their equipment doesn't make it theirs. Just like if you had a good idea about a book to write while taking a dump at your software company's office, it doesn't become their idea.

IANAL

 

[BeachBumDeac]

But also don’t use any company property (even if it’s just a software license) to do a side hustle.

this is drilled into me in our annual compliance trainings

 

[Frosty]

But also don’t use any company property (even if it’s just a software license) to do a side hustle.

this is drilled into me in our annual compliance trainings

Yeah this is textbook grounds for immediate termination in my world

 

[Frosty]

Although this might be something only specific to certain industries idk

 

[bym051d]

Hypothetical question about corporate employer rights to intellectual property - If you have a personal computer but use a corporate license for online word processing software, does the corporation own the intellectual property that’s created with that corporate licensed software? Does it matter where the work is stored?

Also, if you access employer software on your personal phone, and you sign an agreement that allows your employer to remotely wipe your phone, does that give your employer any claim to intellectual property on your phone?

Why are you using a corporate license for word processing on your personal computer? If you’re using corporate resources to develop IP, the corporation would have an argument to owning your IP.

For the phone part, it depends on the agreement you’re signing with your company. A proper agreement should limit their rights to the walls of the software enclave for their apps. A properly setup application will not allow exfiltration of corporate data outside of the app (not counting just emailing files out, but that’s possible too).

 

[myDeaconmyhand]

This is not related to side hustles, it’s closely related to academia and self training. If you have a professional role, and you create resources for yourself, does your employer have the right to take those resources without your permission and use them to train other people in your field, without your permission, without crediting or compensating you? Similar hypothetical for academic research, if you publish research at one institution, if you leave that institution do they now have the right to prevent you from profiting or even publicly speaking about that research?

 

[Mt. Olive]

I’m not sure if they have the “right” but they would probably do it anyways. You need to protect yourself and ideas just to be safe…unless it’s something that benefits you in your current position.

 

[PhDeac]

This is not related to side hustles, it’s closely related to academia and self training. If you have a professional role, and you create resources for yourself, does your employer have the right to take those resources without your permission and use them to train other people in your field, without your permission, without crediting or compensating you? Similar hypothetical for academic research, if you publish research at one institution, if you leave that institution do they now have the right to prevent you from profiting or even publicly speaking about that research?

I've never heard of that happening. In fact, people get hired based on the proficiency of their research at other institutions with the expectation they'll speak and write on it at their new institution.

 

[birdman]

This is not related to side hustles, it’s closely related to academia and self training. If you have a professional role, and you create resources for yourself, does your employer have the right to take those resources without your permission and use them to train other people in your field, without your permission, without crediting or compensating you? Similar hypothetical for academic research, if you publish research at one institution, if you leave that institution do they now have the right to prevent you from profiting or even publicly speaking about that research?

Most academics cannot profit from the research they are conducting and publishing. I think patents that emerge from your worked are usually owned by the university. Published articles are usually owned by the journal that publishes them, you sign your rights over to the journal. You can speak about it and present it at conferences but generally you’re expected to acknowledge the university’s contribution. You’re also, as Ph noted allowed to continue publishing g on that same topic and even using the same data for new work. So far universities have not claimed direct ownership of data sets.

 

[Biff Tannen]

OMG his employer is going to confiscate his OGBoards posts !!!

 

[scooter84]

Most of these questions can be answered by looking at the confidentiality and intellectual property agreement you sign with your employer. I have seen them claim ownership of anything you come up with that relates to their business, or that relates to your job in any way, or that is created on company time or using company resources. There are many variations.
If you did not sign such an agreement then the question will have to be analyzed based on common law and general practices.

 

[Frosty]

This is not related to side hustles, it’s closely related to academia and self training. If you have a professional role, and you create resources for yourself, does your employer have the right to take those resources without your permission and use them to train other people in your field, without your permission, without crediting or compensating you? Similar hypothetical for academic research, if you publish research at one institution, if you leave that institution do they now have the right to prevent you from profiting or even publicly speaking about that research?

Agree with Scooter's post about this being covered in some sort of confidentiality and IP agreement, but IANAL so what do I know?

In reference to the bolded, when I worked in consulting it was made very clear that anything I created on firm time, with firm resources, and/or under the purview of my role was the IP of the firm. This policy was made pretty clear, but there were some unwritten professional courtesies you were expected to give (e.g., if someone grabbed some work I did to apply to a different project I would have expected to be looped into it in such a way that I could bill some hours to the project).

 

[wakephan09]

what constitutes "firm time" if you're getting a salary?

 

[myDeaconmyhand]

Most academics cannot profit from the research they are conducting and publishing.

let me restate - I am referring to an academic being paid for their knowledge and expertise - lecturing, writing, etc., based on renown from their research. Could an institution legally prevent you from publicly representing and referring to research you did for that institution?

 

[Frosty]

what constitutes "firm time" if you're getting a salary?

If I reported the hour(s) to the firm in some way, whether they were billable to a client project or unbillable (to overhead or development)

 

[birdman]

let me restate - I am referring to an academic being paid for their knowledge and expertise - lecturing, writing, etc., based on renown from their research. Could an institution legally prevent you from publicly representing and referring to research you did for that institution?

Oh I see…that is not something I’ve come across. However, there is so little money in conservation and ecology that universities have very little to gain by blocking or taking any honorariums I might get for presenting work I did. I think the basic agreement is that the stuff you come up with while employees of the university is your own intellectual property, unless it is profitable patentable stuff, then the university wants their share.

 

[Louis Gossett Jr]

Also Academics and Non-Academics are completely different ballgames these days. A lot of academic stuff is supported by grants and there are now a lot of rules and regulations in regards to open access, public data bases, things of that nature including time frames in which data must be made public as well as request for more detailed information if asked as a requirement for being given the money in the first place.