

Ask HN: If I bootstrap, does my current company own the IP for my work ? - smwhreyebelong

I have an idea and want to develop a prototype for it on weekends/nights. However, I was wondering if my current company would own the IP and if that could cause problems later on ?<p>Any advice on bootstrapping, things I should look out for before starting this ? It would be great to hear some anecdotes about bootstrapping as well.
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frankus
This is a gray area. If your personal project overlaps in any way with current
or potential future projects that your employer might undertake, be very, very
careful.

I presented one such idea to an employer I worked for, and they actually
created a "quitclaim deed" saying that they weren't interested in taking on
the liability, and that provided I didn't use company time or facilities they
didn't expect a cut of the profits or IP either. But most employers aren't
that cool.

Many employment contracts have a clause saying that the company you work for
owns any ideas you come up with related to your work while you're employed
there. Make sure you take a look at your contract to see if it has such a
clause.

The only situation I could think of where you could probably let it slide is
if your project is totally unrelated to what your company does. For example
you program DSPs for a living and your side project is a social networking
app.

As for anecdotes, I haven't worked for that employer for ten years, but at the
same time my side project is still in its infancy. Fortunately the technology
has advanced in the intervening years to the point that it is actually
practical, so hopefully I'll have a prototype done soon.

~~~
smwhreyebelong
Thanks for the advice. I did sign a contract but I am not sure if the scope is
limited to my work related to what I do at the company.

My current company is pretty vast and it's not unimaginable that they could
come up with a similar product but it's highly unlikely .. even more unlikely
in the coming years.

The other thing is that I don't know if the project will take off and I don't
wanna discuss it with people at my current company yet.

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pg
It all depends on what agreement you signed with your current employer. (If
you didn't sign anything, which is unlikely, the IP is all yours.)

~~~
smwhreyebelong
Thanks pg. I guess it all depends on the fine print of the contract I signed.

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yeti
hey, i was in your situation (actually i had started a lot of work on my
website before i started panicking about it)

i actually made friends with the company lawyer and asked her informally about
it first. i suggest you can try first. if the work contract. then it's not
unreasonable to ask for a letter from the company saying its ok... as long as
you're doing a good job at work i guess it's fine (people may even see you as
with a lot of initiative to be starting your own idea outside of work)

good luck...

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trickjarrett
Have you signed any such documents?

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smwhreyebelong
I signed a document about any "inventions" I do being the property of the
current company. Would the new company / project count as an invention ?

~~~
trickjarrett
I am not a lawyer, but my understanding is that yes it would count as an
invention. You need to address this with your employer before proceeding any
further.

Now you're in touchy territory, you're telling your bosses that you have a
side project which may one day take you away from them, but if you're going to
do this and maintain control it's a risk you have to take.

Otherwise when you leave, if they know about it, they can take you to court
for this project.

If you go in to talk to them, assure them that it is a side project and that
you won't work on it during work hours or using work equipment (not even a
company lent laptop is safe.) If the project is still neo-natal then they
should be cool with it and have no interest in it unless the idea is that
good.

If you think the company might take it from you and you don't want that. You
have to work on it in secret, never tell the coworkers, etc. Then leave the
company before it becomes known, and the term expires on your contract
document.

~~~
smwhreyebelong
That was the only thing I was worried about. Even if I don't tell anybody and
work on it in secret, after I leave the company and say release this product,
could they come after me and say : hey, you signed a contract .. this product
belongs to us since you worked on it when you were with the company ?

I guess I am getting a little paranoid about this but I just wanted to
understand if anybody had any good / bad experiences and the best way to go
about it. Thanks for the advice

~~~
trickjarrett
Depending on the terms of the contract, yes.

The good: They have to be able to prove you worked on it while working for
them.

The bad: You'd still get saddled with legal fees if they come after you, even
if you win the case and retain the project.

