Is the company looking for my personal projects during a non-working home?

Question

Good, that's why I create Web 2.0 / 3.0 sites to earn extra money. I am currently launching my own websites for projects with some advanced technologies in the backend (AI material, recommendation system), which I have developed over the years. This is a subscription site for me to make money on the side.

Now my company (they make a web application / software, an ad network) somehow found that I am running several websites. They thought, “Hey Joe, you are launching websites like that! Why not put them on our ad network? What are you doing, this is a threat to our technology - we don’t want you to compete with us on let's post your sites and place them in our portfolio / ad network. "

Well, basically it seems that they want to get rights to my technology and personal project. Somehow they must have shared my name and connected it with some of the projects that I am working on. Is it ethical for the company? Trying to own my personal project, since he got great technology and is trying to own the rights to it? Just because I work for a company doesn’t mean that I’m going to propose to them, right?

Answer 1

You probably need to see a lawyer. What were your working conditions that you agreed to when you were hired? Was there a non-competitive article? Was there a required disclosure proposal?

Answer 2

Depends on your employment contract. Your contract might say something like "everything you do while hiring XYZ, whether it’s ours during business hours or non-business hours". It's time to talk to a lawyer, not to ask StackOverflow, this is not a technology / programming issue.

Answer 3

Ethical? Yeah why not. If you post material on the Internet, and they can find it through Google, then why not? If you do not want people to find things you did on the Internet, do not put them on the Internet or use the robots.txt file to hide it from Google. It’s not completely unreasonable for them, at least, to ask if you can use the technology developed by you while working on them.

Legal - maybe so, maybe not. Depends on the employment contract you signed when joining the company. I would consult with an employment lawyer for real advice, rather than asking here.

They may have weblogs that demonstrate that you work on your personal websites during business hours - if you have done so. I would be very careful how I would act if I were you.

Answer 4

check your contract and / or your state laws and case law. Talk to a lawyer.

IMHO for them it is unethical to try to take your intellectual property without compensation, even if you have "all of your codes that belong to us," an employment agreement. But talk to a lawyer, and be prepared to go get a lawsuit and sentence if necessary. Someone is trying to steal your lunch money, it's a bully and a thief, but they can only have a legal requirement.

This is probably not a joke. Talk to a lawyer right away.

Answer 5

If what you do is in any way competing with what your company does or uses the technology, intellectual property, information or contacts that you received due to your employment in your company, then you may have problems and you must check your contract and see a lawyer.

The other side: have you ever worked on your sites (and this may include sending emails, etc.) of your personal projects at work? If so, you may have problems with this.

Ianal, so all I say about legality.

Answer 6

You need to consult with a lawyer to get a final answer to this question. The answer may depend on your employment contract and the laws in your area. Do not rely on anything that is said on the Internet about legal issues.

Regardless of whether it is truly their rights, I think it is unethical and stupid because of them to put such pressure on you. I guess they just lost any employee loyalty you might have.

I think the correct answer might be: "If you think that my sites have an advertising revenue potential, make me an offer that reflects their value, and I will consider it." In the end, you launched these sites to make money, right?

But first, speak with a lawyer to make sure you are able to negotiate.

Answer 7

Well, a friendly way to do this, and that they probably should agree, if reasonable, is to buy / rent your technology. Thus, you can get a good amount for your work ( since you mentioned the purpose of this site, it was to make extra money in your question ).

Otherwise (if this is a pet project in the first place), you can also tell them in a friendly manner that you keep this site as a hobby, and you prefer not to share it, if everything is in order, unless they let you work full time on your own and reduce earnings, etc. (something that most people would like to do, work on their favorite projects and get a stable salary for it).

As always, first try to reason with the other side in a civilized and friendly matter, this is likely to make both sides happier, and it will be better than the legal route most of the time.

Answer 8

I am not a lawyer, and the laws will almost certainly vary by country / state / province. But if you are working on a side project at the time, on your own equipment, using only your own network resources, etc., then, in my opinion, they do not have the right to your work.

If you signed some kind of fuzzy non-competitive contract or something that says that everything you do in your time belongs to them, then you have less legs to stand.

It is best to ask a lawyer if you have sufficient income from your subscription base to justify it.

Answer 9

Contact a lawyer! Regardless of your contractual obligations, any company has the right to worry if one of their employees works with a direct competitor on the side, especially if they can demonstrate that you have access to privileged information that you use to compete (knowledge of their technology, marketing strategy, customers, etc.).