Why do some companies have the "invention policy"?!?!?!

[VetTechJess]

I know you have heard of it and I have seen it for myself personally so I know it exists.

When I worked for a call center named Client Logic, they had what I called an "invention policy".

What it would simply boil down to is if you were inventing something (say a software or something) that they would help you patent it, but then after you patented it, YOUR invention would become the property of Client Logic.

In other words, you had no choice, you had to literally sign a paper saying that if you invented it, you wouldnt do it in secret, and you HAD to give the credit to them afterwards...

that really irked me. Lucky I wasn't inventing anything at the time and I have long since left that company.

my question is...WHY DO SOME COMPANIES HAVE THAT POLICY?!?!

[Angela]

Well, I know in our companies, part of the exchange of value between employer and employee is that the employee is paid for her intellectual potential within the scope of the business, in accordance with what they negotiate.

The important thing to distinguish in the negotiation is "the scope of the business." If I am working for you in support of your pet business, anything I invent that could reasonably be considered part of the pet world would fall into that realm.

If I were presented with a contract that had me signing away the complete, unlimited, all-encompassing potential of my creativity (presumably, that would include any songs or books I wrote!), I would take a pass. It's very likely that my values and that companies' would not be in alignment. But if I was extremely interested in working for the company anyway, I would mark up the agreement to reflect what I feel are reasonable limitations. If they are unwilling to negotiate, they're out of luck -- they get none of my intellectual possibility at all.

So basically the answer is, if you don't agree, don't sign the agreement.

[Brutha]

In general a lot of jobs were you could invent something in worktime have an agreement like this.

Especially at a call center where people in general aren't paid to invent new things that can be patented a contract like this is a bit over the top.

[ericwmontgomery]

I actually worked for Client Logic as well But anyway, half the companies I have ever worked for have had something like that... The last one I worked for that had that, the wording was something like anything that you create/invent while on the clock is owned by the company.

[Terumoto]

You think that's bad?

At many universities, mine included, any original work any student comes up with automatically belongs to the university and they get all the rights to it. For example, I can't legally publish an essay I wrote for an assignment with anyone other than the university. It's kind of annoying.

[openeyes]

Originally Posted by Terumoto

You think that's bad?

At many universities, mine included, any original work any student comes up with automatically belongs to the university and they get all the rights to it. For example, I can't legally publish an essay I wrote for an assignment with anyone other than the university. It's kind of annoying.

Indeed. It's thought by some that the inventor of Pepsi-Cola came up with it while he was still at UNC, but waited until leaving before officially inventing it just for this reason.