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From: JLC3861%TAMSTAR.BITNET@wiscvm.wisc.EDU
Newsgroups: net.sources
Subject: Re: Public Domain Declarations
Message-ID: <6911@brl-adm.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 15-Apr-87 12:05:25 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-adm.6911
Posted: Wed Apr 15 12:05:25 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 17-Apr-87 02:20:39 EST
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Opening disclaimer: I am not a lawyer.

That said, I know someone who has worked for 30 years at places like IBM,
AT&T, DoD, Xerox, and many others. In that time he has accumulated many
work-related (i.e. employer-owned) patents and 80 patents of his own. His
advice:

1) If you have signed the section on your contract which gives invention rights
  over to your employer during your term of employment you're sunk. Your
  employer does have rights to your discovery (the Sears case notwithstanding)
  since you have signed over the rights.

2) Federal law protects your right to your inventions in the absence of that
  contract section. If you haven't signed such a provision, any inventions
  you make which are not directly part of your job are yours.

3) You cannot be required to sign such a contract provision as a prerequisite
  to employment. You have the right to strike out that contract section before
  you sign. The fact that you struck it out cannot be held against you (i.e.
  they still have to hire you).

This is, as far as I know, the state of the law in this area. Any comments
from lawyers out there?

John L. Coolidge

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