Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Florida
I wrote a book on how customers of my employers and other companies in the same industry can learn how to protect themselves from unethical practices that are commonplace in the industry. The company's position is that they own any material that I come up with based upon what I learned on the job. This book was developed on my own time and will be copyrighted. Does the company have a right to my material?
2 Answers from Attorneys
the answer is that "it depends". It depends on whether you had an employment contract and if so, what that contract says. If you did not have an employment agreement that expressly claims the rights to intellecutal property that you create on your own time, then it is unlikely that the employer will be able to claim rights to your material. On the other hand, if you use or disclose your employer's confidential and/or proprietory business material your work might conflict with the confidentiality agreements that most employers have their employees sign and/or include in their employee manuals.
you should probably contact an attorney and discuss these issues. there are also practical issues as well in terms of keeping in good terms with you employer if that's what you desire.
It depends. Seems unlikely unless you are divulging information which may be protected under a confidentiality/non-disclosure/non-compete agreement. You must have an attorney review all the facts to form a complete opinion.
Best of luck.
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