[AccessD] Database Patent...sort of....kinda

This is a good question!

Unless you had a prior written agreement with either company that stated
that a condition of your employment was that you would assign all rights to
anything you created that was patentable or copyrightable, then those
databases are yours.  The reason for this is that the US Constitution
specifically states that 'discoveries' belong to inventors and authors, and
so no federal or state law can state differently and force you to give up
your rights in this legal area.  

I've been a design engineer, and at most places I worked, before I accepted
the job, I had to sign an agreement to assign all inventions (related to my
job) to the company.  I decided up front to do this, no law required me to.
At one company I did apply for and receive a patent that was unrelated to my
job, and my company had a review process where they released me from my
obligation to assign rights to them for that patent.

I am completely confident (although not an attorney) that the database you
currently have is yours.

Hope this helps,
Dan

 

-----Original Message-----
From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Dian
Sent: Sunday, September 16, 2007 5:38 PM
To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving'
Subject: Re: [AccessD] Database Patent...sort of....kinda

OK...I give up...I've thought about this all weekend and I'm supposed to
have an answer tomorrow and I don't. This is ethical and moral and legal, I
think. Years ago, I worked for a title insurance company that dealt with
timeshares. At their request, I created an application to deal with some of
the special issues that affect timeshares and title insurance. That was my
first Access database. I left the company and the database...it belonged to
them. No problem. I went to work for another title company and created the
database application they needed to deal with their timeshare issues (didn't
use the old one....sorta recreated a new one). So far, so good. Not a moral
or ethical issue involved. That company fell apart and I moved on. Now, the
unethical part. The company fell apart and I took the the database home with
me because nobody cared. I "play" with it...have test data, etc., easily
available and I have implemented a number of the ideas I've gleaned from
this group (for which I will always be grateful)...now comes the ethical
question: Owner A couldn't care less (they don't do timeshares now); Owner B
is out of business entirely. IF I choose to work with C, am I doing anything
wrong by using the framework I've "played" with over the years. My
apologies...I know this is weird...but, honestly, I have no clue who else to
ask. Thank you...


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