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from the better-don-your-asbestos-undergarments dept.
An anonymous poster 'The ABKCO Thieves' writes in about new hire paperwork.
I recently started work at a well-known e-commerce business, which is a great opportunity for me. Only after I started did I find out the full inventions, NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement), non-poaching, and work-for-hire agreement is onerous. It treats any work of authorship during my employment as their property, even if done on my own time and equipment. I can't post the agreement because it would identify the company, and potentially me as well.
Earlier this year I began contributing code to a GPL v2 project that has existed for more than a decade. I want to continue to do so, but how can I without risking "contamination" of it thanks to this agreement? Part of my goal in contributing is to have real live code I can point to, so going under the radar defeats that purpose.
Are these sorts of intellectual property agreements common?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by butthurt on Tuesday September 13 2016, @08:50AM
Distasteful contracts with an employer were the subject of another recent discussion. [soylentnews.org]
If you haven't signed the "agreements" then you can, in my nonprofessional opinion, indicate your lack of assent to them by resigning promptly. Less drastically, you may attempt to negotiate the terms under which you'll be working. One blogger offers his own NDA to his clients. [writerunderground.com]
If you've already signed, you can still attempt to negotiate a more livable agreement that will supersede the one the company provided. You also have the option of resigning, but the unfavourable contract terms will apply to the code and client lists you saw while you were with the company. The sooner you leave, the less you will see, making the company's case more difficult. Should you decide to stay, you could tell your manager about the project you've been contributing to, and your intention to continue doing so. Your employer can give permission for you to write for such projects. I haven't been in such a position; if I were, my inclination would be to prepare diffs, print them out, and ask my manager to sign the printouts. Blanket permission (in writing) to contribute to a specific project is something you could ask for; if the project is unrelated to the company's endeavours, such a request isn't a "big ask."
If you've already signed, you might consider getting proper legal advice as to which terms of the contract are enforceable. I've been asked to sign things which weren't enforceable in the jurisdiction I was in.