A well-drafted agreement can be less than a single page in length and should be written by an attorney. It requires the employee or contractor to turn over or legally "assign" all rights to the company. In addition, these agreements require the employee or independent contractor to assist the company's counsel in securing and enforcing the rights. Another good practice: Ask workers to designate, upfront, all pre-existing inventions that are to be excluded, but to cover all new inventions that are in any way related to your business, even if developed during the employees' non-working hours. For example, let's say your company makes billing software. This agreement prevents one of your software developers from claiming that he came up with a time management program at night that could be of use to your company — or your competitors. By following these simple procedures, business owners can avoid tremendous aggravation and loss of property that is truly irreplaceable. Copyright 2007, Muhammad Zarif << Back |
