A few days ago I read about a guy who landed a game programmer job in the UK. He was complaining about a clause in his contract which stated that the company could claim IP rights on code written by him outside work hours. I find this clause extremely abusive, so I would like to know if including something like that in the contract is a common practice in the industry, and if it is, if it''s actually enforced. ------------------------------------------------------ Cuando miras al abismo el abismo te devuelve la mirada. F. Nietzsche

> {...} that the company could claim IP rights on
> code written by him outside work hours

It''s not the first time I see this and it won''t be the last. For some reason, people think ''standard'' contracts that companies feed their potential employees are not negotiable, otherwise they wouldn''t be ''standard'' in the first place. Contracts *ARE* negotiable, and certainly that clause could have been changed in the first place if a little thought and a lawyer were put on it. That happened to me some 15 years ago; I''ve added a clause to the contract that any project I was working on already would not be claimable, even if extensions to said project were performed after the beginning of the employment contract using my own personal resources. As long as I was not competing with my employer, I was free to continue my project in the wee hours.

> {...} if it''s actually enforced.

Companies use such clauses mostly as a deterrent to having their employees spend their time, energy and creativity on affairs other than theirs. I''ve yet to see a case where a company ''stole'' someone''s personal project''s IP, unless it was in direct competition with them. Given that it is a done deal in your friend''s case, some jurisdictions won''t enforce them because it interferes with basic human rights (freedom of expression). It''s always a good idea to ask for a lawyer''s advice in such cases.

-cb

The thing is, if you code for a company - you''ll be taking methods and ideas from them back home (even if it was your own).

Therefore, you''re essentially coding something for yourself that was devised by the effort on their time.

> you''ll be taking methods and ideas from them back
> home (even if it was your own).

That''s called Experience. And you can''t remove it from leaving employees. You can only control things physical (docs, prototypes, data) and future behaviour (join the competition, divulge trade secrets, acting against the company''s interests).

-cb

Another reason why they might want such a clause is for when staff are getting ready to leave. A company will want to discourage them from "idling" at work and then going home to put their full efforts into their own project in preparation for leaving and becoming competition for their previous employer.

Dan Marchant
Obscure Productions
Game Development & Design consultant

quote: A few days ago I read about a guy who landed a game programmer job in the UK. He was complaining about a clause in his contract which stated that the company could claim IP rights on code written by him outside work hours.

I''m not sure about UK laws on this subject, but in some places I think the employer may be liable to pay overtime when using clauses like this.

quote: Original post by HenryApe
I''m not sure about UK laws on this subject, but in some places I think the employer may be liable to pay overtime when using clauses like this.

This certainly isn''t the case in the UK and I have never heard it mentioned as being the case anywhere else. Can you post links to your souces for this information please?



Dan Marchant
Obscure Productions
Game Development & Design consultant

quote: This certainly isn't the case in the UK and I have never heard it mentioned as being the case anywhere else. Can you post links to your souces for this information please?

It was something I asked an IP-law professor about here in Sweden. The employer may not have to pay overtime for the clause itself, but he might if he chooses to invoke the clause. In other words, the clause may act as an option for buying the work done in the employees's free time for the agreed salary, which often stipulates overtime compensation if the work is done outside regular hours.

The interpretation of clauses like these are largely up to the courts. For instance, non-competition clauses are often not effective here unless they are very specific (can't be "must not work in the game industry") and a court is likely to void any such clause that extends beyond 6 months after finishing employment, or some period like that (there have been some cases on that, but I don't remember the exact time periods).

[edited by - HenryAPe on August 31, 2003 10:29:46 AM]

I''ve had to sign IP clauses that say that anything that I write for the client belongs to the client, in or out of working hours. I would never sign anything that said that any code I write belongs to the company. I''m not sure that''s even legal.

Of course, under UK law unless a client specifies explicitly that they want the IP, it belongs to the author by default.

[teamonkey]

Thank you for your replies.

------------------------------------------------------
Cuando miras al abismo el abismo te devuelve la mirada.
F. Nietzsche