Questions tagged [intellectual-property]
The intellectual-property tag has no usage guidance.
74 questions
192
votes
10
answers
30k
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How to deal with an employer who refuses to allow copyright attribution in software
As a mobile developer I am currently building an App to go live on the AppStore.
The designs include a link that goes off to show all attribution used. This app uses MIT & Apache 2.0 licensed ...
- 1,189
151
votes
12
answers
51k
views
Engineer refusing to file/disclose patents
We have a senior engineer on our team that routinely excels at his work. In addition to his regular work, our company has a patent program where engineers can write up a patent for a novel idea, and ...
- 737
103
votes
7
answers
27k
views
Former manager who left company is asking for documentation I prepared as his direct report
I've been at my place of work 5 years now, and my first manager there left around 2 years ago. (It was not on great terms.) We did not speak until a few weeks ago when he asked to get lunch. We did, ...
user76342
90
votes
7
answers
25k
views
What to do after an employee leaked our algorithm? [closed]
One of my company's internally developed algorithms was published online. It's a complex algorithm that took years to develop, I have a pretty good idea of which employee leaked it based on the team ...
- 729
68
votes
15
answers
26k
views
Company requiring me to let them review research from before I was hired
In a bit a predicament. I recently have received media requests about some upcoming research I plan to publish. According to my company's employee handbook, I have to keep them in the loop with all ...
- 819
62
votes
13
answers
17k
views
Interviewee offered code samples from current employer -- should I accept?
I've had a technical interview with one person (software development) and I don't usually request for code samples. Reasons aside, this one person offered to show me code that they've been doing for ...
- 833
56
votes
7
answers
11k
views
Is it normal for an employment contract to involve signing over prior intellectual property?
I'm in process of starting a new job, and the employment contract contains a clause that states any intellectual property I created before (!) signing the contract becomes the property of the company ...
- 641
55
votes
7
answers
10k
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How do I approach my boss about licensing concerns he has already dismissed once
I work at a large, international company, with my office situated in northwestern Europe, and my manager has recently asked me to create a safety poster for use at my workplace. He also included some ...
- 310
48
votes
5
answers
16k
views
How to retract an idea already pitched to an employer? [closed]
I suggested an idea* to my boss. He didn't show much much interest to build it**, so I did it on my own. Now it is on the verge of getting funded with venture capital. My boss is now interested in ...
- 455
47
votes
12
answers
14k
views
I automated my job and the company doesn't know, what do I do now? [duplicate]
So I made a program that does my own job.
I worked about 9 months on it, using the time I saved from not having to do my job, plus staying after work, plus working on it on the weekends.
The company ...
- 401
31
votes
6
answers
12k
views
How to approach protecting my code as a research assistant? Should I be worried in the first place?
I am an undergraduate working as a research assistant for a university, primarily alongside a supervisor. While I have my own project, my job still has me assisting my supervisor in his main research. ...
- 355
20
votes
5
answers
4k
views
Former coworker has uploaded proprietary source code to GitHub - what to do? [closed]
I work as a software engineer. Few years ago I was part of software development team, where I wrote code for a back-office system at a bank.
Recently I discovered on GitHub, that one of my coworkers ...
- 311
19
votes
10
answers
12k
views
Agreement made at hire is unenforceable due to a technicality, employer refuses to make new agreement to correct
I'm an engineer based in the US. Last year, I received a new job offer. The new job offer had an intellectual property (IP) agreement which was far broader than what my previous job had, so I spent ...
- 335
15
votes
6
answers
5k
views
Can I take a copy of documents that I've written with me upon resignation? [closed]
I've been writing Technical Documentation for a few years at my current employment. I am currently resigning from my position and am curious: is it considered acceptable for me to take a copy of what ...
- 179
15
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Former Employer just sent me an IP Agreement [duplicate]
A former employer of mine (5 years ago) just sent me an email out of the blue with an updated Intellectual Property Agreement notably more complex than the one I recall signing when I started with ...
- 616
12
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Compliance: Boss asked to buy software for team, that i built privately
I work in Germany in the private sector, medium size: 2000-5000 employees. I work in an IT Department.
Short Version:
Boss asked to buy software for team, that i built on my own time
I didn't build ...
- 259
12
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How to respond to an employer's intent to copy software design
We are working on planning a new design of an old outward facing legacy web application and during one of our meetings we covered the specs for what the new features should be along with the look and ...
- 498
11
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Disputing Intellectual Property Section in Contract
I know its pretty standard for companies to add an IP section to the contract, but the one I have received for the new job I have accepted seems pretty full on to me:
Intellectual Property 19.1 You ...
- 868
10
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Is it ok to use a software at work that was previously built at home?
My question is similar to this one, but the difference is that I already had a lot of code ready when I was first asked about the task. Not sure it makes any difference though.
Is it ok to build ...
- 119
9
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Are my creations, made outside of office hours, the property of my employer? [closed]
I understand that this question has probably been asked many times before but, every contract is different.
Anyway, due to my company being taken over by another, we are being issued new contracts, ...
- 111
9
votes
3
answers
1k
views
I would like to purchase the rights to the software my company created but no longer wishes to maintain or use [closed]
I work for a firm which has a large in-house development arm. We have a small software package which was written by one guy 6 years ago. This software is currently used in production but the guy who ...
- 209
8
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Can I reuse the code of an application written in my spare time if it has been deployed and used in the internal company network?
I have written a small application to offer a service to all employees where I work. This was done outside of work almost 100% using my personal laptop (only small fixes were done at work mostly ...
- 5,950
8
votes
2
answers
1k
views
The Value and ownership of programming interview questions for developers
During taking interviews for developer positions, it is common to ask to provide snippets of code that fulfill specific requirements.
Therefore, recently I was asked to create an entire application ...
- 91
8
votes
3
answers
1k
views
I developed code and "donated" it my workplace to speed things up. Now do they own that code? [closed]
I work at a small startup as a full stack developer. We previously used PHP to develop all of our applications and I told my boss we should eventually move to C# which he agreed. Over the coming ...
- 285
7
votes
8
answers
5k
views
How to claim royalties for product design and coding after the fact, when I did not negotiate an arrangement beforehand [closed]
I am currently working as a sales representative for a company.
A customer requested the company to create a product 2 years ago (even before I started working there), and the company has never been ...
- 105
7
votes
3
answers
566
views
Intellectual Property from old job [closed]
I am a team leader at a tech company. Our team are currently building up a certain area of expertise. A colleague has joined us recently and has shared with me the Intellectual Property of the same ...
- 213
7
votes
4
answers
695
views
Extended opensource software as a side-task, how to ask my boss about to contributing it back to the community?
Note, it is not a software licensing question, it is a "how to ask this from my boss" question. The IP part is here irrelevant.
In my current project, I have a relative high freedom, actually the ...
- 4,974
7
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Asked to sign a confidentiality and non-compete contract, after working here 10+ years; how should I approach this?
Is it normal to have a generic Intellectual Property agreement without specifically naming out what is considered to be IP/Confidential?
After working as a web developer and then as a manager for ...
- 455
6
votes
7
answers
2k
views
Is it reasonable for me to ask for the removal of a contract clause that says all the patents I produce go to the company?
I was recently offered a funded masters program in the field of mathematical modelling and computer coding. I was given a contract to sign which I subsequently declined because I was unhappy with a ...
- 89
6
votes
7
answers
2k
views
How do I approach my employer to apply for a patent for my algorithm?
I work for a software company. I have the beginnings of an idea of, what I believe will be, a patentable algorithm. I don't know yet if it will actually be accepted, but anyway, won't know until I try....
- 207
6
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Should I share my source code with new employer? [closed]
I have been working in what could be described as a niche marine sector for the last 12 years. Over the last 5 years, I taught myself how to code in python and a few other languages.
Once I became ...
- 737
5
votes
2
answers
890
views
I believe I have taken intellectual property
Prior to leaving my former employer, I sent to my personal email a powerpoint presentation that I wanted to use for studying and upskilling while on a break. There is no company confidential data ...
- 77
5
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Am I entitled to royalties on a product I created but didn't think of?
I've been working (unpaid) in my off-time as an Electrical and Software Engineer to create and develop a product for a start-up company. The original idea for the product was not my idea, but ...
- 1,045
5
votes
3
answers
981
views
Can I make tutorials in my free time?
In the company I work at I was assigned a task that requires the use of a particular software. During the research phase I found that there are very, very few tutorials on how to operate it. I have ...
user100470
5
votes
3
answers
760
views
Blogging about techniques researched during working hours
I am a programmer for an mobile app development company, specifically for the server side. I am wondering whether it is bad to write a blog about techniques learned during working hours.
I am not ...
4
votes
4
answers
3k
views
My Company Wants to Own My Weekend Work
I work for a large hardware manufacturer in Europe. I work on the software development required for products. Since it is a hardware manufacturer I work for, which does software required to sell their ...
- 71
4
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Dispute over the software that I used to complete my task for our company [closed]
my friend and I set up a e-commerce company together as %50-%50 partnership. My part of work was get product information from websites and keep the inventory accurate for our online store. We do not ...
- 67
4
votes
3
answers
1k
views
If there was no ownership clause in my contract, do I own my work or is it company property?
Some introduction to preface: I do web design/development for a small company in Missouri. My employment contract has no language regarding who owns the work I do internally, nothing about ...
- 1,015
4
votes
2
answers
839
views
What's the process (and pitfalls) for using my open source code at work?
I don't just do software engineering as a career - I do it as a hobby as well. I now have several small open source projects, mostly released under permissive licenses.
Occasionally at work I've had ...
4
votes
2
answers
657
views
Putting experience on resume from a project that used source code without permission
I'm currently a senior at my university and am looking to graduate this upcoming summer. I've been trying to add more depth to my resume, and one of my biggest sources of experience has actually been ...
- 149
4
votes
2
answers
366
views
Starting a venture while still working a 9-5
I have an idea that I would like to pursue and possibly make a business out of in the future. However, I am not at the stage where I am willing to quit my regular job and make myself a full-time ...
- 583
4
votes
2
answers
813
views
Is it acceptable/legal to use personal software projects in work software? [closed]
I'm working on a software solution to a particular problem at work, and I noticed that part of the problem I actually encountered a few months ago on a personal project of mine, and created a library ...
3
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Ex-Employee Published Entire Source Code on GitHub 3 Years Ago - How do we Get it Down? [closed]
Roughly 3-4 years ago, we hired a PHP developer and tasked them with building small "satellite" websites. They didn't stay long, and we had largely forgotten about them.
Fast-forward to today, one of ...
- 263
3
votes
4
answers
816
views
How to prove that I have worked on complex product design in the past?
I'm lucky enough to find myself among the several million brand new job hunters in the market. I'm still on good terms with my old employer (and wish to keep it that way of course).
I was involved ...
user47698
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Adding Github repo to my resume [closed]
Besides repos for basic school projects, I have one private Git repository for an app I'm making with several friends.
That repository contains code that utilizes much more advanced programming ...
- 51
3
votes
1
answer
742
views
How can I retain intellectual property of a specific project?
I have been working on contract for 4 years developing software. (and more than a decade before that as a regular employee elsewhere) The contract is conventional in that the work I do for them ...
- 61
2
votes
5
answers
831
views
Developing an application voluntarily for my company in my free time - Do I own it? [closed]
I often find myself with free time at work, and our e-reader (I work for a small town newspaper) is not user friendly in the least. So in my free time, and sometimes off the clock, I began developing ...
2
votes
3
answers
2k
views
"Working for another company" clause in contract
In my previous job I applied a small bit of Python code that I had previously developed during my academic studies. I made clear that the IP was mine and that, because I generated it in the past, the ...
- 169
2
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Remotely working on a personal computer from a work machine (off hours) [closed]
I was recently given a new office laptop which has been quite explicit about enforcing certain employer-employee agreements. Because of this I've been reflecting on the ownership rights regarding the ...
- 131
2
votes
1
answer
629
views
I want to obtain exclusive rights to a project I proposed that the company is no longer interested in [closed]
I proposed a BHAG to my employer (whom I've known for years prior to employment) back when I was hired on.
She was ecstatic, but my immediate supervisor was not convinced. It has since been dropped ...
