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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Posts
    147

    Default My Former Employer Want Me to Sign Patent Paperwork

    I am in california.

    I was layoff 2 months ago. My former employer want me to go in and sign patent paperwork.

    They called just called me up and ask me to come in or meet somewhere to sign the patent paperwork.

    I said I am kind of bussy now and I don't work for you any more. And can you folkes do this without me. Because it will take me about 4 hours to review the patent. My former company is in the habbit of asking people to sign thing without giving people time to reading it. They then said I was legally obligated to sign to come in and sign it.

    I then said how does the company A (the company that my former employer higer to adminster hr and payrole they are technically my employer) feel demanding a former employee to come in to sign paperwork. They said the patten have nothing to do with company A. And if I don't come in they will have the patent attorney call me to inform me of the consequence.

    The patent was created during my employment I am the inventor. I did not sign my right as part of my employment. But the patent has not been formaly approval by the patten office. And while I was their employee I would review the patent and modify and add to the patents. So if they are asking me to sign and release to them the latest version it would be different to what I have sign while I was their employee. But for me to sign it I have to review the patten (who is to say they, my former company, did not add something that I invented that was outside of the company.)

    If it sould like I don't trust my former employer you are right. I have good reasons.

    Am I legally obligated to go in and sign the patent. I don't see anything in my seperation paperwork that said I have to go in a sign thing after the fact. And the other thing is that it is work for me to go in and review the patten.

    So I contact and report this situation to HR in company A.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    38,867

    Default Re: I Was Layoff 2 Months Ago. My Former Employer Want Me to Go in and Sign a Patten

    not certain due to the manner you have described the situation but it sounds as if your employer may have a legal right to claim ownership of the patent.

    regardless, that does not obligate you to spend your time to sign something they should have had you sign while you were employed with them.


    If it were me, I would tell them to send the paperwork to me so I could review it and have an attorney review it and if all is proper, I would return it to them, signed.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Posts
    2,357

    Default Re: My Former Employer Want Me to Sign Patent Paperwork

    If by "laid off", you mean termination of the employment relationship (not subject to recall), I don't know what you have to gain by signing anything at this point.

    Having said that, though, if you invented whatever-it-was in the course of your employment, it almost certainly belongs to the employer, whether you signed anything or not. Having an attorney review the document and advise you would be your best option.

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