Mind Control (Who Owns Your Thoughts)

Wired Web Site ^ | 15 August 2002 | Elisa Batista

[droberts]

Mind control: Do companies own the thoughts of their employees? According to one Texas judge, Alcatel, the French manufacturer of telecom equipment, does.

In a case tied up in the Texas court system for five and a half years, Judge Curt B. Henderson of the Collin County, Texas, District Court found that Alcatel owned a former employee's software idea that had never been written on paper.

[droberts]

This sets a horrific precedent for freedom of intellectual thought and expression. It also establishes that, in some form, an employer really does own an employee.

[Hari_Seldon]

"The company said it owned Brown's idea because of a signed employment agreement requiring him to disclose any inventions he conceived of or developed while at the company."

Well, if he signed this agreement, then the company does have rights to any of his ideas that were "conceived of" during his time at the company. Nothing sinister about it. He willingly gave those rights to the company when he signed the agreement.

His only hope is to be able to prove that he conceived of this idea before he worked there, in which case it wouldn't be covered by the agreement.

[droberts]

I would have though that 'time at the company' would mean time literally spent at the company and would not include time spent elsewhere regardless of who he was employed by.

[Uncle George]

Jesus called it "Your secret place" and no one can gain access to it.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

Who owns my thoughts???

ZONTAR!!!!

[sourcery]

His only hope is to be able to prove that he conceived of this idea before he worked there

That assumes the burden of proof properly rests with the employee. It does not. Alcatel's only hope is to prove that the idea was first conceived while the guy was their employee (unless the contract says otherwise.) This follows from the legal principle that physical possession is prima facie evidence of ownership, and from the fact that civil cases are decided based on a preponderance of the evidence.

[Hari_Seldon]

You raise a good point. I guess we'd need to see the exact text of the agreement.

[Hari_Seldon]

I'm no legal expert. You may be right about that. But my point was that in principle it is possible that the company could legally own the rights to the idea without it necessarily being a horrific or sinister scenario.

[RightWhale]

Sounds like GE.

[gunshy]

I would think that the company would have to prove that the ideas were thought up while the employee was on company time.

[droberts]

the company could legally own the rights to the idea

Technically true, if you signed a contract saying something to the effect that you were the property of the company for the duration of your employment there. However, I think this would fall foul of slavery laws.

There is a legitimate concern that an employee may use a company's time and money to work on their own projects but burden of proof should be on the company.

This action implies that even if you did have an idea and worked on it entirely at your own expense, your employer can somehow barge its way into your personal life and effectively take what is your property. This is horrific.

[Villiany_Inc]

"Sounds like GE."

You are more right than you may realize. Alcatel is connected with RCA/GE/PROSCAN - formally called Thomson Multi Media. (I just recently left the employ of a TMM warehouse after 5 years.)

[RightWhale]

Alcatel is connected with RCA/GE/PROSCAN

Aha!

[Villiany_Inc]

I dont know all the ends and outs of that side of things, but from what I have heard, TMM has some pretty stringent 'intellectual property' rules/clauses.

Have you bad dealings with GE in the past ?

[Pining_4_TX]

I only wish I had some thoughts worth stealing. :)

[droberts]

That's OK, you can form a large corporation with an army of lawyers and take them off other people.

[RightWhale]

bad dealings with GE in the past ?

Not bad, just less than inspirational.

[Consort]

Thought®™©

[tracer]

I cannot remember.....

[steve in DC]

GE IS the Borg!

You, too, will be assimilated!