I dont understand why Ford had to dismiss Kearns. Why wouldnt they just employ him on their payroll, make him one Fords engineers and they can both take credit for their invention. A Ford engineer inventing the intermittent wipers. Its not like Ford could not afford to keep an extra engineer on their payroll! Can someone explain, thanks.
shareHe had no interest in working for Ford, he only wanted to produce his invention and have a company for his family. If he worked for Ford or any other major company, he would have been forced to sign away any rights to anything he designed, even items on his own time. He did not want to be "owned".
shareAFAIK, unless one sells his patent rights to the company, the company itself doesn't have rights over it. So even with Kearns on its payroll, he would have had to be paid royalty. On a related note, its funny that most cos. get to keep the patent even on a totally unrelated work if its employees has an invention/ idea!
actually, it's not really what i would call funny.
the idea behind it would be that you either used proprietary knowlege from their business and stands practices... or, you were using your time while on their payroll to work, thinking about your invention, instead of thinking about your job.
and if i have a patent, and then go work for you, you would be right. but if i come work for you, and sign any IP clauses in my new hire paperwork, you would have first crack at any patents i then filed for. not all companies do this, but most tech companies do.
On a completely unrelated area, if the co. takes up the patent, it sounds very unreasonable to me. For example, if I have an idea for biodiesel while working for a mobile software solutions co., they have no business to claim the patent right. As for the assumption that I was using my time while on their payroll, it has no basis, because beyond the 40 hrs per week I sign up for, my time isn't theirs. If I think of work off-duty hours, its my prerogative. Else, I would have no family time either, let alone hobbies or patents!
sharethen i would suggest not signing any employment contracts which include sucha clause then. i myself abhor them, but do recognise it as a pretty standard practice in american business.
usually though, if you are working a 9-5 hourly job, you do not have a contract, and this is therefore not an issue for you. very few at will jobs include such a clause in their hiring paperwork.