| Nope. At least not directly. Similar to how a carpenter might learn stuff during their 9-5 that helps them be a better carpenter, the work I do during my 9-5 informs what I do outside of work. If I were to spend time on personal projects, I'd never use my day job's resources. Early in my career I left an employer to start my own company. That former employer tried to sue me, saying that because I came up with the idea while "on the clock" that they could claim some or all ownership of my new company. My former employer had no case though. I never used their resources, never even jotted down notes about the idea I had, never even talked about it to other employees. The idea itself was one that wouldn't even compete with my employer - two totally different industries/markets. That said, my lawyer at the time said that if my former employer even had a single email I sent that hinted at the idea, or scrap of paper with any reference to it, they might have been able to get a case in front of a judge or arbitrator. For those considering working on side projects, and you want every chance of protecting those side projects, it wouldn't hurt to talk with a lawyer about how to protect yourself as early as you can. |