IBM scraps rewards program for staff inventions, wipes away cash points | Big Blue staffers aren’t pleased to lose out on potential bonuses::Big Blue staffers aren’t pleased to lose out on potential bonuses
IBM scraps rewards program for staff inventions, wipes away cash points | Big Blue staffers aren’t pleased to lose out on potential bonuses::Big Blue staffers aren’t pleased to lose out on potential bonuses
I’m not defending this, but this is an extremely common practice in the US.
No it’s not.
If this were such a common practice there would hardly be any US contributors to open source projects.
The legal practice is common. Enforcement is significantly more challenging (particularly when you’re working under an online alias in a niche space).
IP assignment is extremely common, but there are almost always exceptions that you still own the IP if it’s your own time, your own equipment, and not directly related to what you do for your employer.
It also extends to other fields.
Disney has this rule on all artistic creations of it’s employees