Re: "Prior Inventions" on employment contract

Booth,

You bring up a very good point.  Leave your tools at home.

There is a form of the uniform commercial code that does provide for
employees that own and bring their own tools of trade to the work
place.  They brought them, they own them, they can leave with them.  The
employer owns nothing and can make no claims.

That works pretty good for a set of wrenches, hammers or saws.

IMHO, the clause in question declares that you do NOT own any tools and
IF you bring any tools to work they are co-OWNED by your employer. (they
can do what they want with them)

FWIW, sign it, take the job, keep your CD toolset to yourself and when a
2 hour job takes 10 hours (without your tools) laugh your way to the
bank.

That's one way of dealing with it.

The other way is to declare that you DO own your own tools and you WANT
the right to bring them on the job.  The employer acknowledges that the
existence of such tools makes you a more PRODUCTIVE (and valuable)
employee and either PAYS you a hiring bonus or increases your salary.
At the SAME time you are granted EXCLUSIVE ownership of YOUR tools and
you are granted the ability to LEAVE with what YOU brought to the table,
no questions asked.

I am not a lawyer, but I have spent 29 years dealing with them and
negotiating mutually agreeable, friendly, enforceable contracts.

Having said that, all agreements are contestable.

Booth Martin wrote:
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> Another possibility is that the company does NOT want you bringing in your
> stuff?  Perhaps they have their own way of doing things and are using this
> method to make you leave your habits at home?
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