Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Washington

patent ownership

I have many patents in my name, for myself and several companies. I am an experienced engineer and signed a non-compete. During this employment I have filed a patent application that has nothing to do with this company's business. Can they try to claim ownership or control of it? I am interested in licensing it to an interested company (not their competitor). No work was done on this patent idea at this company, but I did file it during employment.


Asked on 3/05/09, 3:43 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Mason Boswell Boswell IP Law

Re: patent ownership

Can they claim ownership, yes, would they succeed in doing so, possibly. The answer will hinge on what your employment contract says with them about IP that you create while employed, and also the extent to which you used any company resources (e.g., computers, etc.) to formulate and test your idea. Many companies make you list any ideas you had before employment as part of the employment agreement, and then sign that anything not on that list that occurs during your employment is theirs. The best approach might be to approach the company and get them to sign off that they have no interest in your idea. If it isn't in their field then they might be willing to do so.

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Answered on 3/05/09, 6:29 pm


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