Overly Broad Intellectual Property Agreements?

[IRBY]

It seems like all companies, especially big corporations of all types are requiring all employees, in all positions to sign these evil, overly broad IP agreements that sign over all the contents of your mind/imagination, in the past, present and future to the company, in purpetuity. In the past, I've left them blank, when the manager wasn't a stickler and/or didn't notice. Several years ago, I was about to take a small part time job with a major chain retailer. I was going to be a low level floor associate and they wanted me to sign one of these agreements. They put them in with all the other mandatory, mundane paperwork, so I think most people are just signing these things with no idea what they just signed. I told the management that I wrote songs on the side and did video projects as well. I asked them if what I was signing would require me to turn over the possession of every song, poem, lyric, story, musical composition, arrangement, production that I'd ever created to the company. The management got in touch with the corporate legal team and they said YES! The agreement WOULD cover even these hobby/art type things, even though, they were in no way related to the business of a home improvement store. Upon signing this, every thing I've ever created and ALL revenue from that ownership would LEGALLY belong this giant company, in perpetuity. Remember, this covers all creations in the past, present and future. They refused to hire me without signing it, so I didn't take the job.

These evil agreements are so common now and I'm currently getting ready to get back into the regular job market and this has me concerned as a creative person.

Can I protect myself from these agreements by incorporating myself and then signing over the rights to all of my intellectual property to my own company FIRST, thereby making any secondary contracts of such kind that I'm pressured to sign by another company automatically null and void, the moment that I put pen to paper?

[SODDI]

I think that company is on very shaky legal ground and that agreement applied that way wouldn't hold up in court. But I'm not a lawyer.

Practical matters first. Never ask that question of a perspective employer again. Never let them know what you are doing. It's none of their business anyway.

If they require you to sign such agreements, lie. Sign it with no intent of honoring it. It'll only matter if you make it and/or you get caught. You are under no obligation to be honest (that way) with a company that would attempt to assert such non-existent rights over your person.

Release your music under a band name, not your own.

[Jafo]

Be assured, they will asset their "rights" (wrongs, more like) and sue you if it looks profitable to do so. The good news is, if you don't make enough $$$ to make it worth their time, they'll probably leave you alone. Maybe. But if you make some money, you can bet your [insert favorite body part] that they will. Signing said agreement means you give them the right to do so, and they wouldn't demand that you sign unless they intend to do so (if it becomes worth the trouble). What do you think signing an agreement means, anyway?

Most of us here just want to see a forum bro get ahead. -- nevertheless, it would be better to consult with a lawyer rather than a random bunch of potential competitors.

[Googly Smythe]

What's the situation if you sign two of these agreements, because, maybe, you move on from one job to another?

[TheCatBurglar]

Maybe you accidentally forget your signature for this part and do something completely different - that would be a shame.

Although, does anyone know what companies are currently doing this?

[BertKoor]

Imho you did the right thing. Regardless it's fimble basis to stick in court: do you really want to work for a corporation that has your soul signed under contract? Me thinks not. And better tell them that is the reason, otherwise nothing will ever change.

[mumpcake]

In my experience, if they ask you to sign documents that probably wouldn't hold up in court, you probably don't want to work for them anyway.

[IRBY]

These kinds of forms are not all that new. They are called assignment contracts or preassignment agreements. The first time I remember being faced with one of these (that I noticed anyway) was back in the early 90's. I was back home from college and just got a part time, summer job as a clerk in a Blockbuster video store. Blockbuster is owned by Viacom, which is an entertainment corporation. The agreement they wanted me sign was very detailed and broad. I'm paraphrasing but it said, in plain english something to the effect that as an employee of Viacom, any and all copyrights, inventions, patents, creative works, music, screenplays, stories, etc. that I have ever created, or will create, become the property of Viacom. It further stated that you were bound to immediately turn over all creations to the company and the contract stated that you would assist the company in securing all rights to any of your creations. Now, as evil as this was on their part, at the time, I thought it was just because they were a big entertainment company. But later part time and even seasonal jobs I've had over the years have all had these types of agreements. Aside from Blockbuster, I've been confronted with these at Home Depot and Target. So, I imagine this is pretty standard in corporate America now. ONLY in a handful of states are there laws protecting employees from these kinds of contracts. I know in California, an employer can't ask you to sign away rights to creations you make on your own time, with your own money. But most states offer no such protection. I think the vast majority of people are signing these without noticing them. Every time I have been asked to sign these, they are just inserted in the middle of "standard" new hire paperwork. So it's buried in like your mundane tax and insurance paperwork. What's really stupid is how many Americans have two separate part time jobs. So if you sign one of these at Target, then get an additional part time job at Home Depot, which company now has the legal right to all of your creations? And then corporations wonder why so many people automatically consider them pure evil?

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/14/opin ... .html?_r=0

http://www.shakelaw.com/blog/employee-inventions/

http://fortune.com/2013/12/06/does-your ... your-head/

[SODDI]

The second link IRBY posted had a very salient point:

If an employee is not hired with the specific purpose of inventing something, then he automatically has ownership (copyright and patent rights) over any inventions or creations made during his employment — even if they are related to his employer’s business. “Mere employment” is not enough to signal a transfer of invention ownership to an employer.

That is, if you are hired to stack mulch, you were not hired to compose music and you own the music.

However, develop any mulch-stacking innovations and you're shit out of luck.