This is much more typical of my experience. You have to sign an agreement that anything you design or any patent-able invention belongs lock, stock and barrel you your company. In return you're paid whether you design something or not. As is often the case scientists or designers start here, learn the ropes, get a reputation and then leave and go on to bigger and better projects often keeping the rights in whole or in part once they've proven their abilities. I know several people in the IT and Behavioral Sciences that did exactly this. It works and does not require public money. Robert Taylor ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:53:40 -0700 From: Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Utah-Astronomy Digest, Vol 71, Issue 101 To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Message-ID: <2541d8030901301553hbda43bfxeac2495d2b8e4a24@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Not at all. I had to sign a contract with my employer, that basically grants them intellectual ownership & all commercial rights to any processes, devices, or materials that I happen to come up with while employed by them. It's a common practice in private industry. When all accademic institutions get on the same page, it will become common practice there, as well. In the meantime, it's absence is a recruiting tool. On Fri, Jan 30, 2009 at 1:01 PM, Robert Taylor <robtaylor3661@comcast.net>wrote:

What you're proposing is communism - how did that work out?