Is my IP safe from poaching if I DO NOT work under an employment agreement?
So, we’ve learned in “today’s post”:http://www.foundread.com/view/the-dangers-of, that “moonlighting” to found your startup can be a risky proposition if you work under a contract or labor agreement with your current employer.
But what, if anything, do you have to worry about if you DO NOT have an employee agreement? Is your startup’s IP automatically safe from corporate “poaching” if you have no employer-employee contract with your current (but future ex-) boss? What other concerns remain for the founder who launches a side business under these conditions?
Source URL: http://www.foundread.com/view/the-dangers-of#content_8055
I discussed this point at considerable length with my lawyer after I found my business thrown into some very unusual circumstances.
IP law rules that unless a contract has been entered into to the contrary, the IP is the property of the inventor. In the case of software – where the inventor has not shared his source code, there is no practical way anyone else can ‘take’ your invention off you – therefore there is no burden on you – and legally, you own the stuff anyway.
Keep in mind this is Australian Legislation but I should imagine it would be the same in the states – and that my experience is purely in the software context.}