ownership of an idea invention
before examining ways to protect ideas in more detail, you should consider the question of who owns them. An unprotected idea which is known to many people is sometimes said to be in the public domain—that is, no one owns it. But who owns
OWNERSHIP OF AN IDEA/INVENTION
your
If you came up with your idea as a part of your job, then there is a good chance that the idea does not belong to you. If you were hired to write a book or to paint a picture, then the copyright (that is, the legal right to prevent others from copying the book or picture) belongs to your employer—in the absence of a rather unusual contractual agreement between your employer and you. Similarly, if you were hired to design a brand new machine, then the right to obtain a patent on the new machine belongs to your employer. In such instances the agreement under which you have been hired should set forth ownership of the rights to the machine. “new” and undisclosed idea? You might think that, if you thought of the idea, it must belong to you. Most of the time this is true, but not always.
Many people who were not expressly hired as “design engineers” or the like, nevertheless make inventions which are somehow related to their employment. Many companies require all
However, even if you do not have such an agreement with your company and were not hired as a “design engineer,” your company may nevertheless have certain rights in your invention. The extent of those rights will depend on the details of your relationship to your company and the relationship of your invention to the work you are hired to perform. This is a complicated area of the law and one you should consider carefully with your attorney if your invention bears any relationship to your job. employees, whether normally engaged in design work or not, to sign pre-employment agreements which provide that all inventions the employee makes while employed will automatically belong to the company. Other companies require only certain employees to agree to assign only certain inventions to the company. If you have such an agreement with your employer, then it will, more than likely, control who owns any inventions you make while employed (and perhaps even for a short time after you leave your employment).
Similarly, even though you were not expressly hired to “write a book” or to “paint a picture,” if you do write a book or paint a picture which is related to your employment (as, for instance, by having been written or painted on “company time”), then you should discuss the question of ownership carefully with your attorney.
As for your right to use your own idea (as distinguished from your right to prevent someone else from using it unless they pay you for the privilege), every originator of an idea has a common-law right to use the idea unless that right has been contracted away or is limited by the rights of a prior originator of the idea. In this respect, if another had come up with the same idea before you had, had established a property right (such as a patent right) in the idea, and the right was still in existence (i.e., had not yet expired), the first originator would have prior rights. In that case, you would not be able to use your own idea without the permission of the first originato
As for your right to use your own idea (as distinguished from your right to prevent someone else from using it unless they pay you for the privilege), every originator of an idea has a common-law right to use the idea unless that right has been contracted away or is limited by the rights of a prior originator of the idea. In this respect, if another had come up with the same idea before you had, had established a property right (such as a patent right) in the idea, and the right was still in existence (i.e., had not yet expired), the first originator would have prior rights. In that case, you would not be able to use your own idea without the permission of the first originato
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