[unscrupulous_sw]

> It is not uncommon for tech companies, which fiercely guard their intellectual property, to sue former employees or the firms they join after they leave.

Is it really that common?

I feel like most software engineers don't really take intellectual property all that seriously. Most will not think twice about backing up emails when leaving the company which might contain code diffs, design docs, etc.

Friends from different companies usually talk about internal system designs and technical problems pretty freely. One of the circles I hang out with even backup and share the interview question database from every company they've been at.

So while it's probably crossing a line, it's still not something I expect they will ever get sued for, let alone criminally charged. (This is in contrast with friends from the finance industry who are a lot more tightlipped about everything and you do hear stories about regular employees getting sued)

[creato]

> I feel like most software engineers don't really take intellectual property all that seriously. Most will not think twice about backing up emails when leaving the company which might contain code diffs, design docs, etc.

You can't be serious. I would never think of doing this, and I can't imagine who would.

[P_I_Staker]

You might be surprised. Some people don't give a rats ass about IP, including software engineers. I definitely wouldn't say most, though.

[bifrost]

You'd be a rare bird.

Most employees don't even bother to not pirate software, look at porn or whatever on their work laptops. Its somewhat hilarious.

[azylman]

You're comparing apples to oranges.

I know a lot of engineers at a lot of companies who look at porn on their work laptops (which isn't illegal). I don't know a single engineer who would take documents from their previous company to their new company (which is very illegal).

[P_I_Staker]

Not rare at all in the software industry, is very common. I'd say people are more split than OPs letting on, but plenty of software engineers are extremely serious about IP.

[rongenre]

It's red-line different to take one's skills and know-how and experiences with you than to copy documents and designs from one's current employer and take them to a new gig, especially at the executive level.

[lovehashbrowns]

> Most will not think twice about backing up emails when leaving the company which might contain code diffs, design docs, etc.

Why would you even do that? I don't get the purpose of that. The email backups are worthless at that point--you can't reference them later, you'd have no reason to refer to them later, and backing up emails for a previous employer isn't your responsibility.

[dannykwells]

I user name gives it away. Obviously no one agrees here.