Over the last few months, I’ve spent a fair amount of time building a tool that I’m reasonably certain I can sell (nothing novel, don’t get too excited) and I would really like to try. I know there is a customer base and I know it’s useful… because I built it to use myself. But I also plan to use it at work, that’s half the reason I built it. In fact, most of the company templates are just mine that I brought with me when I was hired.
While 90% of the time I spent building it was in the evenings, on my ‘own’ time… perhaps 10% of it was ‘company’ time where I had free time and spent it building this tool.
I’m 90% certain that my employee contract states any ‘inventions’ created are owned by the company, which is pretty standard in my industry. So I have a few questions:
- Does my employer own this tool? (I know you aren’t lawyers, but maybe someone has insight?)
- What is the risk of selling it anyway? What happens if I sell it and use it at work?
- How do I find a clear path forward (without hiring a lawyer. This is practically hobby-tier, I don’t want to take it that far)
Posting from alt account because I’m paranoid and want to retain anonymity JIC
It’s your companies tool. If you used any of their company time, resources (wifi or computer), or even used it for work purposes it’s their property.
Just because you did it or most of it on your own time doesn’t matter as it can easily be considered unpaid overtime or just work initiative.
On that last part, that’s what I learned in business school (many years ago) that I"m not 100% sure is true but salaried employee’s time isn’t just 9-5 so my ‘own time’ might not even qualify here.
I did this on my PC though and haven’t used it at work yet (but will need to soon so that’s why I’m asking) but that’s not something I want to raise because then they’ll make me use their equipment and I"m way more efficient on my own system.
Tbh reading your comments, you sound so absurdly naive you should just not try to commercialize this. You mention you spent 90% of your time developing this on your own time and 10% on company time. You say you are thinking of using this tool in your own work — you might “NEED” to use this on your work. This is just beyond me.
Either don’t tell them at all, don’t use this tool at work and stop being so naive, or just give up on this invention. Seriously, this is your invention, why would you use this at work, implicating yourself with a possible conflict of interest, even mention the invention at all.