IEEE-USA is
engaged in an ambitious effort to pass legislation
protecting inventor
rights in all 50 states.
The model legislation we are proposing would
establish limits for employment agreements clarifying what intellectual
property created by an employee can be claimed by the company and
what belongs to the employee.
|
IEEE-USA's Position on
Inventor's Rights
IEEE-USA
believes that:
1. Intellectual Property should belong to employers unless
employees:
• Create
it on their own time,
• With their own resources, and
• It has nothing to do with work done or planned by the company
2. Companies need to compensate former employees for work done to
protect the company’s intellectual property.
3. Any employment agreements that violate either of the above should
be unenforceable.
See
IEEE-USA's position statement on
Invention Rights for
Employees
for the full details. |
What rights do engineers have to their ideas? When a company
hires you, how much of your creativity do they own? Do engineers
retain any rights to their ideas when they accept a paycheck? The
answer will depend what state you work in.
State law differs on what employers may demand in return for a
paycheck. The assumption is that all intellectual property developed
while working will belong to the company, not the employee who
invented it. After all – that’s why many engineers are hired.
But what about
intellectual property created outside of work? In most cases the law
is silent, meaning companies can use employment contracts to claim
ownership of everything produced by their employees, even
inventions that have nothing to do with the company and its
business.
Employers have a right
to intellectual property that is developed by their employees during
the course of their employment. However, companies should not have a
right to everything that their employees do and think. Some limits
need to be placed on company claims on inventions created by
employees beyond the scope of their work.
For example, what happens when a
software engineer designs a new type of fishing lure? Who owns the
rights to sell the lure? IEEE-USA believes that the engineer should
own the lure IF:
1.
It was created on the engineer’s time,
2.
It was created using only the engineer’s resources, and
3.
The company’s business isn’t associated with fishing.
Currently, eight states have enacted laws codifying these criteria:
California, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina,
Utah and Washington. That leaves 42 states where the bill is still
needed.
Because contract law is generally a state issue, IEEE-USA is working
to support passage of uniform inventor's rights legislation in the
states, one state capitol at a time. Help from individual IEEE
members will be crucial. State legislators respond best to their
voting constituents asking for help.
How You Can Help
-
Use the Signup Form below to request
more information on how you can help pass Inventor Rights
legislation in your state.
-
To see a copy of IEEE-USA’s
model Inventor Rights Bill, click
here. An
annotated
version is also available providing a section-by-section
description of each provision and its purpose.
-
If you have questions about
this effort or about the model legislation, please contact
IEEE-USA staffer Russ Harrison at (202) 530-8326 or
r.t.harrison@ieee.org
Signup Form
Yes!
I would like more information on how I can help pass Inventor Rights
Legislation in my state.
