Results 1 to 7 of 7
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    11

    Default Is a Contract Enforceable if Your Name is Wrong

    My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Virginia.

    I was hired by a company I was very fund of, and there were a number of red flags which given their reputation I objected and pointed out. Three weeks after I started, they put another contract in front of me for an entirely different position with different pay structure. They told me sign and we'll fire you! They said you don't have the right to show this to an attorney. It was 99 pages with links to yet other documents for policy:-( I did not sign and they forced me out. I also noticed they used a different first name for me. Lets say my name is Mohammad, they called me Mathew in everything, paychecks, insurance card...My question is if the Patent Invention contract court enforceable. They have claimed content, which does not even exist in my hiring process. I have printouts of everything! Isn't it true for a contract to be enforceable there has to be a valid name?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    19,901

    Default Re: Total Scam - is My Contract Valid

    In a word, no.

    Do you have something you're trying to patent? They were free to fire you. You were free to quit. The contact only matters if the question of ownership of some intellectual property is in play. We're not going to play "What if?" If you have an issue, explain it.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    11

    Default Re: Total Scam - is My Contract Valid

    I did not have an idea when I worked for the company. I also did not really work on anything; not even implementation of an already developed idea. I did not see any of their content either. Just filling out paperwork until I found out they changed contracts on me. So you are saying you can not tell me if will be able to submit a patent in the future and benefit from it?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2018
    Posts
    2,745

    Default Re: Total Scam - is My Contract Valid

    Quote Quoting samson33
    View Post
    Three weeks after I started, they put another contract in front of me for an entirely different position with different pay structure.
    Your reference to "another contract" implies that you had previously signed a contract, but you didn't tell us anything about that.

    Quote Quoting samson33
    View Post
    They told me sign and we'll fire you!
    Is that really what you meant to type?

    Quote Quoting samson33
    View Post
    My question is if the Patent Invention contract court enforceable.
    How exactly would anyone here know whether a contract we haven't read and about which you have told us absolutely nothing is or isn't enforceable?

    Quote Quoting samson33
    View Post
    Isn't it true for a contract to be enforceable there has to be a valid name?
    Not really sure what this question even means. However, if you're talking about the contract that you didn't sign, why would you think that would be enforceable regardless of the name used?

    Quote Quoting samson33
    View Post
    are saying you can not tell me if will be able to submit a patent in the future and benefit from it?
    No one could answer such a question without relevant factual information.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    19,901

    Default Re: Total Scam - is My Contract Valid

    Quote Quoting samson33
    View Post
    I did not have an idea when I worked for the company. I also did not really work on anything; not even implementation of an already developed idea. I did not see any of their content either. Just filling out paperwork until I found out they changed contracts on me. So you are saying you can not tell me if will be able to submit a patent in the future and benefit from it?
    I can't answer has you haven't posed a cogent answerable question. I would suspect that no matter what you signed, if you develop something that has no relationship at all to the time you were employed by the company, they have no claim to it. It's possible that they might try, but frankly, given the fact that patents aren't something that suddenly appear from nowhere, you're getting all worked up about some hypothetical situation that is likely to never happen. We don't like spending a whole lot of freaking time here running down hypothetical ratholes. If you have an actual invention NOW that you want to patent that you think might be an issue, or you've been approached by the company over something you've done, then write back with the detals...or better yet, get your lawyer involved. While you can potentially get a patent pro se, defending it as such will be near impossible.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Posts
    284

    Default Re: Total Scam - is My Contract Valid

    Not the question, but "any thing you learn here while we are paying you" type of contracts tend to legal if done correctly, non-compete agreements tend to have sharp legal restrictions imposed on them (not necessarily illegal, but much more legally problematic), and non-disclosure agreements also tend to legal if done correctly. If you have something you own prior to being hired, then you needed to involve your own attorney prior to handing over to your new employer. Your employment will always muddy that particular pond since anything learned on the job is the presumptive property of the employer. The long gobblty-gook contract bothers me less then the suggestion that you gave assets to the employer without getting everything worked out legally first. The contract cannot create employer rights that were not there is the first place.

    And agree with the other answers. If you are going to withhold some or most of the facts, that greatly impacts the answer(s).

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    11

    Default Re: Total Scam - is My Contract Valid

    Let me thank you for providing the info I was after, and you are right about a number of errors you mentioned in my previous post.

    Re: the other contract; what I meant was after I started with the company they asked me to sign a document. I view that as a 2nd contract, the first being whatever paperwork they gave me in order to start the job. Just fyi, the HR person accepted the offer "on my behalf", which is very unorthodox. The 2nd document's terms were exact opposite to what I understood to be the terms of my employment and it had links to other documents. I was disappointed and confused, but I tried to work it out. I asked if I can have an attorney review the document. They told me no. What I meant to say earlier was that they said sign, find a job in a different group, or we will look at terminating you. They verbally and in email acknowledged that the terms of the contract will not apply to me, but I have to sign anyhow, which to me was a red flag. It should have been even a stronger warning; I did not sign.

    I have to say I am so pleasantly surprised that you took the time to read my question and reply an accurate answer. I have been to other sites, and it seems to me they do not put in the time to respond with thought. So I won't abuse your good gesture. Thank you again so much. I got my answer.

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Adoption of Children: How to Create an Enforceable Surrogacy Contract
    By lawfacts in forum Adoption Law and Surrogacy
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 01-08-2017, 09:59 AM
  2. Job Duties: When is Medical Contract Enforceable
    By navs in forum Employment and Labor
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 01-15-2012, 07:30 AM
  3. Is a Non-Solitication Contract Enforceable
    By ic2011 in forum Independent Contractors
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 03-19-2011, 08:47 PM
  4. Co-Ownership: Verbal Contract on Property - is It Enforceable
    By leadhead in forum Real Estate Ownership and Title
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 05-25-2009, 11:46 AM
  5. Loan Agreements: Is an Agreement To Take Over a Contract Enforceable?
    By josh3462 in forum Debts and Collections
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 12-19-2005, 05:51 PM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources