Hi everyone
The company where I work includes an intellectual property clause in all contracts as standard. We have recently received a request from a member of staff to have the clause removed from the contract as he wishes to undertake a specific piece of work. We have discussed this with our employment lawyer and they have clarified that the wording in the contract of employment regarding intellectual property is standard and will not be removed. However, it has been agreed that we can on a case by case basis, assess whether this clause will apply and whether an activity (such as a research project or writing a book) is deemed to be related to the company's business. We can give express permission up front for an activity to be excluded from the clause if we are satisfied it is not related to the company's scope of activity.
I have been asked to write a letter to inform the staff member that we can review on a case by case basis and (not having done this before) was wondering if anyone had any advice/guidance or template letter that I could use.
Thanks
Jane
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