Can anyone tell me what are typical contract terms in Ireland in relation to Intellectual Property? Are there overriding minimums, such as in California, which limit what an employee can actually agree to?
Apparently[1], the California Labor Code stipulates that regardless of what an employment contract or PIIA says, an employee owns the copyright and patent rights to his inventions if the invention is made entirely on the employee’s own time, without using any of the company’s equipment or technology, as long as the invention (a) does not relate to the company’s business, or (b) did not result from work performed by the employee “as an employee” of the company. It seems that Washington state has a similar law protecting employee projects outside the 9-5 bounds.
This seems an eminently sensible protection for employees who get contract terms foist upon them[2] which say things like:
With the exception of the items listed in ‘Exceptions’ below, any and all writings, inventions, improvements, plans, designs, games, software programs, applications, drawings, processes, procedures, and/or techniques (“Intellectual Property”) which the employee either (i) made, conceived, discovered, or developed, either solely or jointly with any other person or persons, at any time when the employee was an employee of the employer or any of its Affiliates whether pursuant to this Agreement or otherwise, whether or not during working hours, and whether or not at the request or upon the suggestion of the employer or any of its Affiliates, which relate to or were useful in connection with any business now or hereafter carried on or contemplated by the employer or any of its Affiliates, including developments or expansions of its fields of operations, or (ii) may make, conceive, discover, or develop, either solely or jointly with any other person or persons, at any time when the employee is an employee of the employer or its Affiliates, whether or not during working hours and whether or not at the request or upon the suggestion of the employer or any of its Affiliates, which relate to or are useful in connection with any business now or hereafter carried on or contemplated by the employer or any of its Affiliates, including developments or expansions of its present fields of operations, shall be the sole and exclusive property of the employer and its Affiliates. The employee shall make full disclosure to the employer of all such Intellectual Property and shall do everything necessary or desirable to vest the absolute title thereto in the employer.
[1] Quoted from http://www.shakelaw.com/blog/employee-inventions/
[2] It's easy to say that employees have an alternative, but the fact is that by the time a prospective employee sees the contract (prepared by a lawyer acting for the employer) they have likely already accepted a less formal offer and are thereby biased towards accepting this. In the general case an employer has more freedom of choice than an employee - Google, for example, will often keep positions vacant for many months while waiting for someone who "meets the bar".