Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
What would you do ?
Do you ...
1) Suggest your company trade marks it and hope for a pay rise
2) Quickly trade mark it and then negotiate from a strong position further down the road, should 'ownership' becomes disputed
3) Try to negotiate a shared use agreement in an upfront way before doing anything
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by maggie on
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I'm no expert but I think that If your idea is not patented then there is nothing to stop someone else doing so and then as the patent holder potentially stopping you using it in the future.
If you patent something and then choose to share it or give it away then you can then do so.
I would get advice from the UK Patent Office, which is now known as the 'UK Intellectual Property Office', https://www.gov.uk/intellectual-property-an-overview (beware many sites which look as if they are official but are private companies using similar wording to the official site in order to garner business).
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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I'd start by checking my contract. Depending to some extent on your job, any employer worth their salt is likely to have this type of situation covered.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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I'm no expert either but I think you are confused about the term " trademark ". A trademark is just a name under which something from a particular manufacturer is sold. Car tyres are pretty much the same in basic design but Michelin and Pirelli are trademarks which protect those manufacturers against other companies passing off their products as those benefitting, for example, from the Pirelli or Michelin advertising budgets.
If you want to stop other companies copying and marketing your idea you should patent it. But. as Hugh says, the contract of employment of any company I have worked for stipulated that they had the intellectual rights to anything I thought up while in their employ, whether actually in the workplace or at home.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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I would imagine that John is right. A lot of the products from companies like Apple were invented by an individual but the company owns the patents, not the employee who invented them.
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You'll find that some contracts cover IP you create at home if it's work related. Check.
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Speak to the http://www.ipo.gov.uk/
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Permalink Reply by Rachella on
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It depends on your agreement with your employer. Most employers that hire creative, developers scientists, engineers... etc, take ownership of any patents of intellectual property created by employees, if the work was done on behalf of the company. The author will generally get her/his name on the patent, but profits from it belong to the employer. That's been my experience. If you want to look it up, it's usually called: work for hire, or corporate ownership.
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Permalink Reply by Chris Setz on
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Start an anonymous, open source version.
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Permalink Reply by CanadianMichael on
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I am not a lawyer, but I have been an entrepreneur. Ownership of work you do in your own time can be governed by statutory rights -- no matter what your contract states, the law of the land may supercede it.
Those particular rights vary from country and even from state to state in the U.S. For example, New York state is quite clear that everything can belong to your employer (depending on contract you signed) while California's state law is clear that no contract claiming ownership of work done at home without company resources is enforceable -- interesting which state is better known for being a hotbed of innovation.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2208056
My understanding is that the EU and the UK has definitely come down on the California side of the argument, so check before assuming you have no rights.
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