CorporateGoth
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? New York
I work as a Software Engineer. A new employer wants me to sign a NDA that has a condition that states basically they can claim ownership of any intellectual property I create (IP wise) if I 'commercially exploit' said intellectual property.
It specifically states this is the case regardless of whether or not I create said IP on my own time or company time, using my own resources or the company's and whether or not it has anything to do with the company's business. As long as I 'commercially exploit' the IP, they can claim ownership of it.
This clause does not prevent me from, say, working on an open source project, however if I wanted to do some consulting on my own time, or sell some software I make on my own, or even profit from the USE of my intellectual property (say, making 3% of all sales made with my product, which I give away) - basically anything that I can make money off, they can claim ownership of.
My question is, is this legal? Or enforcable? I'll be clear that I don't expect the company to TRY and enforce this, however could they if they wanted to? Can they really restrict my out-of-work activities, even if it is not illegal and does not compete with (or otherwise affect) their business?
I work as a Software Engineer. A new employer wants me to sign a NDA that has a condition that states basically they can claim ownership of any intellectual property I create (IP wise) if I 'commercially exploit' said intellectual property.
It specifically states this is the case regardless of whether or not I create said IP on my own time or company time, using my own resources or the company's and whether or not it has anything to do with the company's business. As long as I 'commercially exploit' the IP, they can claim ownership of it.
This clause does not prevent me from, say, working on an open source project, however if I wanted to do some consulting on my own time, or sell some software I make on my own, or even profit from the USE of my intellectual property (say, making 3% of all sales made with my product, which I give away) - basically anything that I can make money off, they can claim ownership of.
My question is, is this legal? Or enforcable? I'll be clear that I don't expect the company to TRY and enforce this, however could they if they wanted to? Can they really restrict my out-of-work activities, even if it is not illegal and does not compete with (or otherwise affect) their business?