Re:A new cofounder has been offered a job with Google. Can G...
by chmike on Monday April 09, 2007 @07:44AM
(#10752)
Do not simply trust what is stated on the contract. In France the law states explicitely that only more favorable clause for the inventor (employee) are to be taken in account. A contract that would state that the employer owns whatever the employee invents beside its work time would thus be abusive and invalid. You really should check the law and not simply the contract.
If you clarify things with google, make sure you get a definitive conclusion that will be valid even if the google employed founder changes states or country, since law applyable to him may change.
Re:A new cofounder has been offered a job with Google. Can G...
by juwo on Monday April 09, 2007 @08:26PM
(#11032)
You have offered wise advice - thanks!
Though, I am surprised because in America, many people at some point, have worked at two or even threee jobs during the week to make income.
So theoretically, if he were to get a consulting job with Microsoft during the weekends, will Google own a piece of Microsoft? That would be interesting to watch :)
1° make sure you can prove what part of the software was there before the other founder joined google. This will put a clear limit to what google might claim as ownership. Dito for its contributions while he is hired by google.
2° inform (in a provable way) google immediately of the situation and ask them to clarify the issue with you ASAP.
3° check the laws in play by yourself. Don't rely solely on what google may tell you or on lawyer advises. It cost some effort, but as a future employer you better know the laws yourself on this topic.
As I'm in France the law is published on the web. It is thus easier to do. Don't know what the situation is in the US and your state. I developped an IT system during my weekends and I had to sort the IP issue with my employer. I not only managed to sort it out without paying anything more than one registerred letter, but I also managed to preserve a very good relation with my employer, which I value most. If both play fair and honnest, this comes out naturally. Beware that there are many traps you might be caught in. But don't be paranoid, there are traps for your employer too. It is really worth the effort to learn the IP laws.