No subject

employed at the time.

I had a neighbour, who told me of a problem that he had, when working
for a solar water heating company, and he came up with an improved
design, from which the company benefited significantly, without him
getting any benefit for the work. He works strictly contract now; works
long hours, and is his own boss, and, gets the benefit of whatever work
he does.

The easiest thing, I believe, is to regard the work as yours, unless the
employer can prove that it was done while you were employed by the
particular employer. It all comes to the party that seeks to take action
against you, being able to prove when the work was actually done.

But, I stand by my disclaimer below, and, as one on this list has
already indicated that he is a qualified and certified practitioner in
this area of law, I suggest that you get his professional advice, and,
as he has suggested, pay for it, and, be covered by his professional
indemnity insurance. It is better than getting advice from people who
may not give either the correct, or, the best, advice.

As an aside, I think that it is unfortunate, that such topics as this,
are not covered in most university degrees that train people to do
professional work. To me, ethics and some intellectual property law, and
duty of fidelity, should be included in some generic third year unit,
across all degrees, with a name like "Professional Development", or,
"Preparation for Professional Employment", or something. It would help a
university prepare its graduates for professional employment. This is
the kind of thing which universities, that award professional
qualifications, should include in their degree courses, as mandatory
units. I would be interested to see Christian's response to that...

<snip>

> > > Disclaimer:
> > > The above, is stated as my opinion, based on my experience,
> > > and, advice of others, and, in reading materials on the
> > > issues of Duty of Fidelity and Intellectual Property. I am
> > > not a qualified lawyer, nor, a qualified practitioner in
> > > the area of law known as Intellectual Property, nor do I
> > > purport to be either of these. I do not purport the above
> > > references to the status of the law to be absolute truths,
> > > but instead, to be my understanding, of applicable rights
> > > and obligations. I assume no responsibility for any person
> > > acting on this information, and any person taking any
> > > actions, based on the above information, so does at their
> > > own risk.

-- 

Bret Busby

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