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From: vantreeck@logic.DEC
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Company/Employee rights to home developed MAC software
Message-ID: <2119@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 10-May-85 15:37:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.2119
Posted: Fri May 10 15:37:08 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 10-Jun-85 04:22:27 EDT
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I have recieved a huge number of responses over the net giving various opinions
on the subject of what rights does Digital have to my home developed, MAC
software. The responses basically fell into two catagories: 1) "That's pretty
much how it is at my company also.", and 2) indignation that a company might
try to claim rights to something that they gave no compensation to develop,
nor assistance to develop, nor had anything to do with what I was 'hired to
invent'.

My employment contract (and my ethics) required me to inform my employer of any
plans to develop anything outside of Digital. My manager and I get along great.
He was just doing what his job required him to do, which was check with the
legal department, personnel policies and procedures, and upper level
management. The voice came back loud and clear from all quarters - "Make a
choice between being an entrepreneur or working at Digital.".

Fortunately, none of these people have the power to enforce this thinking.
Digital has a special committee which has the sole power to make official
decisions about what is a conflict of interest. I have appealed to this
committee and should have their response in about one month. My manager has
even critiqued my letter to the committee so that I could communicate my points
more clearly. 

I'm glad that Digital had the thoughtfulness to have a program in place that
helps to prevent unjustices do to the kneejerk responses of a corporate giant.
I've been working for Digital nearly five years. The company has been good to
me. And I don't intend to do anything that would hurt the company. I'll post
the results of the committee's decision in net.micro.mac. 

							George Van Treeck
							AI Tech. Group
							Digital Equip. Corp.