Should I pitch my innovative product to my employer – or keep it for myself? NICOLA HORLICK replies
Working life today is full of constantly evolving challenges and pitfalls.
When is it OK to date a co-worker? Can you tell your team to get back into the office five days a week?
Whether you're a baffled Boomer, a muddled millennial, or a confused Gen Z-er, our brilliant columnist Nicola Horlick can help.
Dear Nicola,
I have devised a product, working mostly in my own time, which is the kind of thing my firm sells. I suspect it could do rather well. Friends have tried it and rave about the results.
Am I obliged to give my employer first refusal on this?
I have created it using my savings, but with skills acquired at work. If I do go it alone, can I offer it to my employer further down the road?
Also, if I do take that step, where should I start to find support and funding?
Yours, Paul
Looking ahead: Paul has devised a product which is the kind of thing his firm sells
Dear Paul,
You haven't given any information about what the product is, so it is hard to give a complete answer.
For example, if it is a better version of a computer game sold by your employer, there will be issues around intellectual property (IP).
Even if it is a manufactured item based on something your employer sells, there could be IP issues or patent infringement, if the firm owns patents for similar products.
Also if you've developed it partly in working hours, your employer may have some rights over it.
It's great your friends tried the product and liked it. This suggests you will earn a great deal of kudos and possibly some financial benefit if you go with it to your employer.
If you did set up your own business, you would need capital, and this can be very hard to acquire for start-ups. You may have further savings and your extended family might help, but any new venture carries a lot of risk.
Even though the product sounds as if it has real promise, you and your fellow investors could lose all your money.
I suggest that you talk to your employer to see if the product could be added to its range.
I once had a colleague who developed a computer system widely used in our organisation.
When I joined the firm, no one had considered that he owned the IP and that, if he had left the company, he could have turned the system off.
As manager of the business, I tried to negotiate to buy the product. Strangely, he refused to sell, so I had to engage an external firm to build something similar so we weren't at risk.
This illustrates the issues when creative employees come up with innovations.
If you are still keen to set up a business, it is vital to take legal advice on the position of your employer, its IP and any patents first.
The last thing you need as an entrepreneur is to find yourself embroiled in a costly court case.
Yours, Nicola
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