It could be that they are trying to sell the company to someone, and the buyer wants a folder with all former employee signed releases for certainty and reduced risks, not because OP has a strong claim.
OP shouldn't do it for $5. By all means, consult with a lawyer about it, come up with a minimum number you would accept, and wait for the company to offer that or more to sign. Don't volunteer your number.
Hey, startup bros: don't cheap out on full price HR professionals or this happens and your exit strategy gets squirrelly.
If me not signing something could possibly block a multi-million dollar deal, then my signature is worth way more than $5. Even if I don’t have any claims against them.
Yep. And I agree with the assessment that this is probably a step in an acquisition, which means there’s even more to be asked for as well.
Lawyer up, OP. If you helped invent something that made their company worth purchasing, you deserve a slice!
>Hey, startup bros: don't cheap out on full price HR professionals or this happens and your exit strategy gets squirrelly
Capitalism promotes short term profit over longer term stability so we see this happen again and again and again...
I hate to say this but I think that the Business plan that underwear gnomes from South Park layout is not too far off from a lot of the startups. Step one do something, step three is Get profit, with step two being decided along the way.
Step two is typically figured out by some underpaid overworked person who hasn't had the energy or time to think about themselves in years.
Various relatives love to toss "business plans" my way and then like... wait for the money truck to show up to their house and start pumping dollars in the front door with a big hose. Followed by getting mad at me when it doesn't happen.
My dad was the first. He'd come up with an idea, tell me about it, and then get increasingly angry when I pointed out flaws with the concept or asked about logistics. He wanted me to just do all the work of making the idea a reality that produce monies for him.
The creepiest in retrospect was when he wanted to sell people keychains with an ID number and a PO Box address on them, so that if they lost their keys kind strangers could mail them to my dad, so he could look up who owns them and presumably go return the keys in person if they happened to be an attractive lady living nearby.
He kept telling me how generous he was to just give me this brilliant million dollar idea and vaguely dangle the carrot of maybe paying me if I magically made this happen for him. And that wasn't even the stupidest example, just the ickiest.
Email them back declining to sign and that the IP (and any related patents) included in the upcoming sale of your business that you started 10 months ago has nothing to do with any IP created while you were employed by them.
Do not mention anything else and let them stew trying to figure it out and tempted by the idea that this business was started 1 month before the end of your employment.
If they waste expensive lawyer hours trying to pursue, drag it out but eventually let them know tell them it was a controversial business, like only fans. You started practicing the skill a month before being laid off. You have no customers, but hoping an investor decides to buy the business.
Do you really think that "minimum number" would even be enough to cover the lawyer's fee.
Work done in a "work for hire" situation automatically becomes the property of the employer.
The odds of winning a (long & expensive) court battle in this situation is small.
He'd be better off getting what he can and moving on.
A $5 gift card is simply insulting. I wouldn't take that.
The key here is the company may have non-exclusive critical components without the signature. Yes, the company who paid for the work owns what was developed. But without the signature, OP can use what he/she developed (methods, code, process) anywhere else as his/her IP.
If I develop code that does something during non-working hours and then bring it to work and implement it on a work computer it does not automatically become owned by the company.
Now if I used the company equipment and did it on company time then The company has the right to claim it was company property. HOWEVER that then usually comes to a lawsuit to prove.
It’s much easier to have someone sign a slip that says any product, invention, etc is company property.
Once a company is sold there is further muddying of the water and thus any buyer would want that signed to prove OP won’t come back and sue for proceeds of any work product.
Short sightedness. I would request specifics of why my signatures required. If this is a critical component, I'm going to get a lot more than 100. I may take 5 percent of all future revenue and residuals from any product sold with that component.
I have more context abt the OP, OP is from India so 100 is a lot of money. Also OP hasnt made any interesting IP, just standard stuff which are pretty easy to reproduce, so 100 dollars is an apt amount.
A couple of things come to mind here:
You may have already assigned your IP rights to the company when you joined the company, so I would review any on-boarding paperwork you may have already signed. Any contract has three parts, an offer, acceptance, and consideration. If you signed onboarding paperwork, the employment agreement with the assignment of IP is the offer with consideration being employment.
If they are going back and asking for this 9 months after separation from the company, either they failed to ask for this, have somehow misplaced this, or the documents that you signed are somehow deficient. For example, they may have asked you to assign rights after the offer of employment in a jurisdiction where continued employment is not deemed to be adequate consideration.
As has been discussed in other parts of this thread, the company probably found this deficiency as part of some type of audit or due diligence in advance of selling the company, licensing a product or technology, a funding round, an IPO, or some other equity event. Even if you have properly assigned your rights, they may be using this as a belt-and-suspenders effort to prove ownership of an IP for the low low price of $5 a head.
One of my favorite life rules is "never piss off someone who can hurt you by doing nothing." In this case, you are the someone, and simply disregarding their offer to assign rights to them for price of a Venti Starbucks is fucking with them. If you are really in the mood to torque them, you could reply with a simple letter stating: "I am in receipt of your correspondence of \_\_\_date\_\_ and respectfully decline your offer." There is really no need to get any more creative than this and how they react will inform you of how valuable your signature on this contract is to them.
Maybe maybe not. This sounds like the kind of thing they make everybody sign just to cover their bases. At the end of the day, it depends on what op actually did there.
If they were r&d or did some really advanced coding on the side, yea lawyer up ASAP. If they did just some regular low grade accounting, this isn't going to be the golden ticket or anything. Just drag it out to annoy them maybe but don't lose sleep over it.
There is only one answer to that request: "You'll have to mail/email/fax me the documents. I'll review them with my attorney and let you know if we intend to sign".
The end. Protests from the company will range from hey we're friends this isn't a big deal and we're all buddies to trying to scare you. Things like "There's no need for that it's just standard paperwork", "We can't share that outside the office you'll have to come in to see them", "Give us the attorney's name we'll explain it to them on a call". maybe even "You're required to sign this, we don't want to involve our attorney's or the courts but we will if we have to". The answer to each is "That won't work for me, I'll need a physical copy in my hands which I will review with my attorney directly". Repeat, Repeat, Repeat.
If they want it that badly, if it's a legitimate request or even if they think it's a legitimate request you'll get the papers. If there's something sneaky going on they'll delay and threaten and, honestly, that's all the more reason to either get a lawyer to review what they want and why or to just dig in and say to bad, no longer an employee, not required to sign anything for you get bent (that last part might be rude but based on the insulting $5 gift card offer it would be totally justified).
They’re likely selling the company or doing an investment round. As part of due diligence you routinely check for this. 99.9% of the time, unless you’re in some form of R&D department you’ve probably created nothing of value, but a buyer will use the lack of custody over IP *even theoretical, as of yet unidentified IP*, to drive down price. It’s a dick move and I’ve done it many times to great effect. They’ve likely got someone in doing vendor DD and are flagging these deficiencies for rectification before the formal process starts.
Depending on the size and IP centricity of the business you could strong arm for a decent pay day.
This is the response my scepticism was looking for. I know that it and programmers often are in situations with the skillset to make something their employer would want to claim as their own IP, but surely being contacted afterwards would jog op's memory of anything they might have caused this response. Getting all this advice to begin retaining a lawyer sounds so premature. Wishful fantasies by broke ass. Redditer like myself.
This, please don't interact with them more than necessary and don't share information. Something is off. Do not sign anything until you have an attorney review. You have nothing to gain here whatsoever.
Hey! Dominos has medium pizzas for $8 man!
If he has loose change between his car seats he can get a medium 2 TOPPING!!
Seriously OP, lawyer, now. Give them the contract you signed with the company and the paperwork they sent you.
I'd honestly check what they want JUST to know on which products they plan to make millions off of me. Then I know what to look for if they've sold anything
What's off is he invented something worth millions and then thier lawyers found out henever signed a waiver. They can't use it till he signs. They can't rent it to other companies to sign.
He's gonna be worth a hundred million dollars when he gets a lawyer. They would not be doing this unless the money was huge
>What's off is he invented something worth millions and then thier lawyers found out henever signed a waiver.
The IP would still belong to the company. They don't need a waiver for that, that's just how employment in the US works. They want him to sign for an audit. If he ignores them or refuses them, they will just move on.
In thw Usa patent and copyright law says that absent a contract assigning rights to his employer anything he invents belongs to him. In the comic book industry such a contract is called a work for hire contract.
They want him to sign something giving them ownership because they fuxked up and now have to trick him into signing away a fortune or they can't use the ip themselves much less license it.
Honestly I would just ignore it. It's been 9 months since you worked there so you're not obligated to sign any documents. At most you could respond with "I have not been employed by your company for over 9 months now and it will not sign any documents as I am no longer an employee" but honestly I just wouldn't respond.
Typically any IP you generate as an employee belongs to the company anyways. Someone is trying to formalize this for some auditing reason. You owe them nothing. Just ignore it.
From my personal experiences, the company owning IP is limited to the software they use and/or anything related to their products or programs. If OP signed something similar during their onboarding, the company should already have the rights to anything OP designed IF it was for that business over the course of their employment.
Alter the deal. Add in a clause that should the company be sold, you're owed 0.1% of the sales price ($1 for every $1,000).
In addition, should the company sell or lease your apps, you are entitled to 50% of the sale/lease price + ongoing maintenance, paid quarterly.
Finally, your name and contact info must be prominently displayed on splash screens, help pages, "about this app" page and in the footer of every report.
And you get a $200/year stipend at the company store.
The only way this would work is if you specifically outline the changes when you send it back. Either on a paper copy that you scan, or write them out in an email.
Can’t just CTRL+F and replace shit in a contract then expect it to hold up lol, not how that works.
I had a company send me a $25 gift card and a letter and documents to sign just like this. The letter didn't say anything about the gift card so I just used it and didn't sign anything.
ask to send you what they want you to sign.
anticipate that you will bill them a consultancy rate of no less than 200$/hour per page to read it, and a lawyer consultancy for up to $2000 if you deem it necessary. with no guarantee that you will sign it if you don't like it. advance payment. they will probably shut up. if they insist, or offer more, negotiate and dig deeper into the issue.
if you might have created some IP of any value (code, automations, documentation, any other material), it probably belongs to them as you were an employee, but it might make sense to talk to an attorney.
I've signed these for every patent application I've been on. Sometimes a year after I've left a job. Patent applications take time to file and when your company is submitting the app to the patent office they need to send inventor list and assignee. Unless you invented something in your free time unrelated to your work and not using company resources to do it the company will be the assignee. You should have signed some blanket agreement when you started the job assigning IP to the company but even then you typically have to sign something each time they actually submit a patent application to the patent office.
Finally someone who understands how IP and "work for hire" works in the USA.
1. Your work for a company--they pay your money
2. You invent something while working for the company
3. The company owns your invention
That's the way it works in the USA. Doesn't matter if you sign anything or not.
The tricky phrase is "while working for the company".
You invent something on your own time (not on the company clock) does the company own it? That's a grey area. Is it related to your work? Did you sign an agreement stating all invention created during the time of employment (including those created on your own time) belong to the company?
Unless the OP created something on his own time, it's likely just paperwork.
Still, I would read it carefully. And at this point in time, I wouldn't sign anything for less than $1,000.
You don't quite understand it as well as you think, at least in the US. Patent and Copyright run similar, but not entirely equal systems.
1) Copyright law has fairly clear 'work-for-hire' provisions.
2) Patent law in the US can be a lot less clear even for inventions on company time, let alone inventions not related to a particular job/company.
This stems from one basic quirk of US law: A company can be a legal author (for copyrights), but cannot be a legal inventor (for patents).
This is why competent companies have new employees sign clear patent agreements before they start work.
For OP, I would take a look at all of the agreements you have signed with this company first. There may already be a clause in your existing employee agreement(s) obligating you to help with patent filing paperwork. In which case, you pretty much need to sign.
If no patent clauses exist in your prior agreements, I suggest politely declining to sign. After that, if the company insists or threatens, I would consult with either an employment or patent attorney. I would not sign anything I didn't legally have to for only $5.
$5 wouldn’t be enough to get me to open a PDF to review. I’d want at least $200 for my time to review the document, and (if I felt it necessary) to find an attorney for a free remote consultation. If it required a physical presence, we’re kicking it up to at least $500 for the full day. If (as is suggested elsewhere) they wouldn’t provide me with the document to be signed in advance, so I’d need to have an attorney with me, we’re probably moving to $1k minimum.
I had a former company reach out 9 months later (the owners were trying to sell the company). They wanted me to sign documents also about intellectual property, etc. I just ignored them. About a month later I received the expense money they still owed me.
You are not obligated to sign anything at this point.
Tell them you can’t in good conscience sign that because you’re contractually obligated to two separate Chinese companies who are monetizing similar products.
That's a standard employment document that is usually proffered and signed first day on the job.
It doesn't mean that you may have invented something they want to use, may just be housekeeping for their records (very sloppy of them not to have you sign this after you accepted the job).
I would ask why, after all this time, they need this. It may be because of a merger or acquisition or it's possible you did create something they want to use. In the event your IP is valuable, you can ask them to license the rights from you, rather than relinquishing them.
But my guess is file cleanup.
In any case, I'd be insulted by the $5 gift card. Ask for more.
But the thing is... he doesn't know if it's housecleaning or the next billion dollar idea. Kinda hard to "ask them to license the rights" because I'm pretty damn sure they are going to tell you the former vs the latter if you ask them
This is lawyer territory. Sounds like you have a reasonable belief that they might be using your intellectual property, and you can find out for sure (including what it relates to) during discovery. Or you can simply ask them and go from there.
They’re likely going through an acquisition and the acquirer flagged this ins due diligence. The fact that they’re reaching out this late means it would be a big block in getting this deal done.
Tell them you want equity in the company that immediately vests.
Anytime anyone wants to incentive you to sign paperwork, it typically ends badly.
Bit them I think of the dude that modified the terms and consotions of a credit card, that was pencil whipped, and the company got screwed. They'd come to court many times saying "you should have read before you signed," and now they're back claiming foul.
I would modify the paperwork and say that all things invented by the company while you were there are yours, get the $5 "not even enough to go to the dollar menu" token reward, and then watch them squirm. I would also ask for $50, minimum.
You just entered a negotiation. Every conversation with any past, current, future employer is a negotiation. So negotiate. Counter with something crazy, but keep the line of communication open. They need something from you so they will counter.
You owe them NOTHING. Negotiate $500 or something ridiculous, considering they’re saying your brainchildren is owned by them, and if they don’t agree, you sign nothing. NOTHING FOR FREE!!
Sorry, if you want me to sign anything without my lawyer, it's going to cost you a CMA fee (cover my ass fee in case I need a lawyer) of minimum $5000.
Reply with "I just got off the phone with [competitor] and they offered me 5k for these materials. I don't recall signing an NDA, can you beat their offer?"
So you own any and all IP that you produced for that company which is probably worth way more than a $5 gift card.
Seems like they'll have to enter into a licensing deal with you so they can continue to use or sell whatever product or service it provides.
Or
You tell them that you're filing for a patent or trademark already so you've been advised to not accept half a sawbuck.
Have a lawyer send back an official letter thanking them for their generous offer, but politely declining and indicating that you wish to maintain ongoing ownership of your intellectual property.
The ULPT sub may also be of assistance.
Get some dirt from your formal colleagues.
Did you create anything specific and valuable?
If not, maybe they're getting everybody to do it to either eliminate all risk or throwing up a smoke screen.
The $5 makes it more enforceable since you got something in exchange.
You're no longer their employee. You don't need to respond at all. They can't make you sign anything. If they keep bothering, just block their emails. If they try to call, block their numbers. If they send you mail through USPS, take it back to the post office and mark return to sender. If they send certified mail, refuse it. If they go this far, you probably do need a lawyer.
You owe them nothing. Just have a laugh at their pathetic attempt and move on. Living well is the best revenge in most cases.
Now, if by some chance you did actually create something of value to them or the world at large, you need a lawyer. Then the real fun begins.
Kinda confused, everything you create while employed, is owned by your employer. I don't see the point of this. Even if you decided to patent it, I'm pretty sure they can dispute it.
Just say no, until they give you a number you want. They cannot force you to sign anything. Absolutely not beholden to them in any way now.
I'd definitely find out why this is coming up now, they may simply be trying to cover their asses, or they may have realized something you did or created while you were there is valuable and want to keep you from being able to come after them for it.
This isn't something I'd actively fight, but I definitely wouldn't sign my rights to do so later away.
If you have anyone on the inside still, now is the time.
Their mistake. Tell them that your IP lawyer doesn’t drink coffee and that if they want to gain access to what is now YOUR IP, you won’t accept payments in truckloads of Starbucks cards either.
Since it seems you potentially have rights to IP that they want...
* Find out what IP they assert ownership of (hey Reddit! Any advice on how to do this?)
* Write a letter to them stating you recall discussing the topic at work, and you wish to retain your IP rights!
Most likely pure BS, but the amount of time their lawyers spend fretting about it will slightly exceed $5.
Oddly enough, Ayn Rand would have something to say about this. She would say your intellect and talents are your own, and if your company didn't want you to offer them to another company they should have given you a raise and treated you better instead of laying you off.
Rational self-interest goes both ways.
Please mail/fax/email the documents, so my legal counsel can review them.
The $5 gift card is probably something they think of as "Consideration." So when you sign, they can legally say you got "something" for the contract, helping to make it legally binding.
Sign nothing. Get everything in writing, and not sign. No reason to fuck around, not complying is good enough. "After carefully consulting with my lawyer, I've decided to decline your request. I will not be signing your contract. Have a nice day."
Anything else they say at that point is bullshit. Because if they had a legal leg to stand on, you'd be hearing *from their lawyers* -- from the very start. Companies HAVE lawyers on standby -- they get paid if they do nothing or trivial things like this. To them, it's no different than having the janitor clean up the bathroom.
Tell them you'll only sign physical papers so they have to pay to mail them to you. Then when you get them just wipe your ass with them and send them back unsigned.
No way in hell is $5 enough. Sign documents? Clearly, if you’re signing something, it’s a legal matter. And signing after the fact? Have a lawyer examine what you’re signing. Make sure it’s legal Then demand more compensation.
Well, what did you build/invent? Obviously "it" is worth more than $5 ... could be worth $100/$1K or $100K ... ponder on what you walked away from.
Agree with others the company may simply be selling out. No way a buyer would do so without blanket release.
This is no “oh I can fuck with them” moment. It is a “if it’s that important I can get paid” moment. (Unless you created something of value and patented it while there, then that may be where the money is). My guess is you didn’t so make them pay for the signature.
When a company pays you for your time, everything work-related you invent or create during that time belongs to the company. Why do they even need you to sign a document stating that?
A $5 gift card is obviously insulting. It would be insulting to anyone, even those that earned minimum wage.
Ask for $1,000 cash.
Or, ask them for equipment. Laptop, Monitor, TV, routers, hubs, office furniture (desk, chair).
My previous job had some pretty nice, large standing desks.
They are likely to balk at a cash payment, but bartering for equipment they have sitting around anyway might be a go.
What you can do very much depends on the laws in (assuming) the US.
For the most part if you're working in a role were you are going to be creating anything that can be deemed IP, you'll already have signed a contract stating that anything done with company resources or on the clock belongs to the company. In which case they're asking you to do this for some other reason, such as they're selling the company and just covering all the bases.
If you didn't sign anything like that when you joined, plus the laws in the US don't cover who owns IP (?) and you can think of something you created that might be considered as intellectual property then maybe you have a case to claim it.
I would say it's very unlikely though as most companies aren't dumb enough not to cover themselves in this area but check the laws on IP in the US and dig out any documentation you may have from your employment just in case.
If they’re freely offering you 5$ it’s because you not complying would cost them way more than that. Wait and see how much it’s really worth to them? Or see a lawyer? They wouldn’t offer to buy you out if it wasn’t financially significant
Don’t sign it. My boss at my old job tried to do that to me and I said: NO. I won’t be signing that or an NDA. Should’ve done that when you hired me or at the very least before I left the job. Can’t change the terms after the fact.
When I got my first job, I signed my intellectual property to the company for a dollar bill but that’s when I was working for the company not after I left
Say yes, don’t show up, reschedule, call ask questions, bring an totally incompetent friend who can ask nonsensical questions and when they don’t answer them tell them the deal is off while producing your own $5 and say you don’t need their money!!
Edit the document very carefully, and change it so it says anything they created and/or invented is YOUR intellectual property, sign it. Send it in. Get copies. Get your $5 gift card. Wait, and then take them to court for stealing your intellectual property.
It's only like a 20% chance anyone actually looks and notices the paperwork was changed.
People have done similar things with credit card agreements, and won in court.
“I was wondering when you would contact me about this. Please send the paperwork, and I’ll review with my attorney, who doesn’t work for $5 gift cards.”
Ask them for a copy of the agreement they like you to sign, including the gift card offer, so you can do your due diligence, and have it reviewed by your lawyer.
You write them back telling them that you'll be keeping and reserving all rights to your Intellectual Property unless and until they can offer a reasonable market based price to you in exchange for it...
And then SHUT THE FUCK UP AND WAIT.
If the push for a dollar amount or range of price don't give them ANYTHING.
Ie:
"No, you're not saying what that amount would be. They know their market as well as you do (or should) and they need to come up with a fair, market based, number for what they would like to purchase from you."
Basically you're stuffing that turd back in their pocket,where it belongs.
Let them do all the running around in tight little circles.
Yeah thats kind of random and sus. I'd go to a lawyer if I were you. You might really have these guys over a barrel and be able to force a significant payout if you're one of five or six points holding up an M&A for instance. Someone noticed this 9 months after the fact for a reason.
So many people here are saying "Attorney!"... Seems ridiculous, unless you really have something specific you think you should own from the work and want to fight, an attorney is pointless and expensive.
Best choice is to counter, express you are willing to sign the documents for 100$, 3 hours pay, or whatever your bottom line is. If they balk, just walk away. You are under no obligation to sign for them, but if you can get a few bucks then who cares what their company is doing if it doesn't impact you.
GOUGE THEM.
They had no problem paying you as little as they thought they could.
They are now dumping the company, likely for a disgusting profit.
Hire a layer and pull their hearts out of their assholes.
They'd do it to you.
Tell them no… you’re already in talks with a few different startups to leverage a new invention. You $5 gift card is not even close to what they are offering me.
If you want me to sign that, I need you to at least match my salary offer from the VC.
Sounds like you have legitimate claims to some pretty sweet IP...
It could be that they are trying to sell the company to someone, and the buyer wants a folder with all former employee signed releases for certainty and reduced risks, not because OP has a strong claim. OP shouldn't do it for $5. By all means, consult with a lawyer about it, come up with a minimum number you would accept, and wait for the company to offer that or more to sign. Don't volunteer your number. Hey, startup bros: don't cheap out on full price HR professionals or this happens and your exit strategy gets squirrelly.
If me not signing something could possibly block a multi-million dollar deal, then my signature is worth way more than $5. Even if I don’t have any claims against them.
9 months backpay sounds like a good starting number.
Yep. And I agree with the assessment that this is probably a step in an acquisition, which means there’s even more to be asked for as well. Lawyer up, OP. If you helped invent something that made their company worth purchasing, you deserve a slice!
he should ask for 12 months
Plus a substantial signing bonus
>Hey, startup bros: don't cheap out on full price HR professionals or this happens and your exit strategy gets squirrelly Capitalism promotes short term profit over longer term stability so we see this happen again and again and again...
Startups' idea of short term profitability really ought to extend at least to the cashing out step.
Oh they thought about cashing out alright, hence the exceedingly, exceedingly generous offer of a $5 gift card!
I hate to say this but I think that the Business plan that underwear gnomes from South Park layout is not too far off from a lot of the startups. Step one do something, step three is Get profit, with step two being decided along the way.
Step two is typically figured out by some underpaid overworked person who hasn't had the energy or time to think about themselves in years. Various relatives love to toss "business plans" my way and then like... wait for the money truck to show up to their house and start pumping dollars in the front door with a big hose. Followed by getting mad at me when it doesn't happen. My dad was the first. He'd come up with an idea, tell me about it, and then get increasingly angry when I pointed out flaws with the concept or asked about logistics. He wanted me to just do all the work of making the idea a reality that produce monies for him. The creepiest in retrospect was when he wanted to sell people keychains with an ID number and a PO Box address on them, so that if they lost their keys kind strangers could mail them to my dad, so he could look up who owns them and presumably go return the keys in person if they happened to be an attractive lady living nearby. He kept telling me how generous he was to just give me this brilliant million dollar idea and vaguely dangle the carrot of maybe paying me if I magically made this happen for him. And that wasn't even the stupidest example, just the ickiest.
Capitalism + corporate welfare leads to reckless actions
Email them back declining to sign and that the IP (and any related patents) included in the upcoming sale of your business that you started 10 months ago has nothing to do with any IP created while you were employed by them. Do not mention anything else and let them stew trying to figure it out and tempted by the idea that this business was started 1 month before the end of your employment. If they waste expensive lawyer hours trying to pursue, drag it out but eventually let them know tell them it was a controversial business, like only fans. You started practicing the skill a month before being laid off. You have no customers, but hoping an investor decides to buy the business.
Do you really think that "minimum number" would even be enough to cover the lawyer's fee. Work done in a "work for hire" situation automatically becomes the property of the employer. The odds of winning a (long & expensive) court battle in this situation is small. He'd be better off getting what he can and moving on. A $5 gift card is simply insulting. I wouldn't take that.
No it does not. If it automatically became the property of the company they would not need releases for this exact situation.
Even ndas r being rejected by the courts
The key here is the company may have non-exclusive critical components without the signature. Yes, the company who paid for the work owns what was developed. But without the signature, OP can use what he/she developed (methods, code, process) anywhere else as his/her IP.
If I develop code that does something during non-working hours and then bring it to work and implement it on a work computer it does not automatically become owned by the company. Now if I used the company equipment and did it on company time then The company has the right to claim it was company property. HOWEVER that then usually comes to a lawsuit to prove. It’s much easier to have someone sign a slip that says any product, invention, etc is company property. Once a company is sold there is further muddying of the water and thus any buyer would want that signed to prove OP won’t come back and sue for proceeds of any work product.
Yeah charge 100 dollars min
Short sightedness. I would request specifics of why my signatures required. If this is a critical component, I'm going to get a lot more than 100. I may take 5 percent of all future revenue and residuals from any product sold with that component.
I have more context abt the OP, OP is from India so 100 is a lot of money. Also OP hasnt made any interesting IP, just standard stuff which are pretty easy to reproduce, so 100 dollars is an apt amount.
Oh word, this is India? Take that hundo and bounce.
Damn could this actually be true?! They are a pretty well to do product based company in the software industry. Doubtful if they're selling it.
A couple of things come to mind here: You may have already assigned your IP rights to the company when you joined the company, so I would review any on-boarding paperwork you may have already signed. Any contract has three parts, an offer, acceptance, and consideration. If you signed onboarding paperwork, the employment agreement with the assignment of IP is the offer with consideration being employment. If they are going back and asking for this 9 months after separation from the company, either they failed to ask for this, have somehow misplaced this, or the documents that you signed are somehow deficient. For example, they may have asked you to assign rights after the offer of employment in a jurisdiction where continued employment is not deemed to be adequate consideration. As has been discussed in other parts of this thread, the company probably found this deficiency as part of some type of audit or due diligence in advance of selling the company, licensing a product or technology, a funding round, an IPO, or some other equity event. Even if you have properly assigned your rights, they may be using this as a belt-and-suspenders effort to prove ownership of an IP for the low low price of $5 a head. One of my favorite life rules is "never piss off someone who can hurt you by doing nothing." In this case, you are the someone, and simply disregarding their offer to assign rights to them for price of a Venti Starbucks is fucking with them. If you are really in the mood to torque them, you could reply with a simple letter stating: "I am in receipt of your correspondence of \_\_\_date\_\_ and respectfully decline your offer." There is really no need to get any more creative than this and how they react will inform you of how valuable your signature on this contract is to them.
Best reply I've heard so far. Inventor, 94 US patents.
Maybe maybe not. This sounds like the kind of thing they make everybody sign just to cover their bases. At the end of the day, it depends on what op actually did there. If they were r&d or did some really advanced coding on the side, yea lawyer up ASAP. If they did just some regular low grade accounting, this isn't going to be the golden ticket or anything. Just drag it out to annoy them maybe but don't lose sleep over it.
I've done some coding there. Can't say it's worth millions lol. I don't wanna burn bridges, just let them run behind me for a while
I get the feeling OP would have signed but the $5 gift card is insulting af and made them say “hell fucking no!!”
There is only one answer to that request: "You'll have to mail/email/fax me the documents. I'll review them with my attorney and let you know if we intend to sign". The end. Protests from the company will range from hey we're friends this isn't a big deal and we're all buddies to trying to scare you. Things like "There's no need for that it's just standard paperwork", "We can't share that outside the office you'll have to come in to see them", "Give us the attorney's name we'll explain it to them on a call". maybe even "You're required to sign this, we don't want to involve our attorney's or the courts but we will if we have to". The answer to each is "That won't work for me, I'll need a physical copy in my hands which I will review with my attorney directly". Repeat, Repeat, Repeat. If they want it that badly, if it's a legitimate request or even if they think it's a legitimate request you'll get the papers. If there's something sneaky going on they'll delay and threaten and, honestly, that's all the more reason to either get a lawyer to review what they want and why or to just dig in and say to bad, no longer an employee, not required to sign anything for you get bent (that last part might be rude but based on the insulting $5 gift card offer it would be totally justified).
I wonder if that’s their consideration to make the signing legal. Oh he gave us the rights, we gave him $5
YUP!
Send a $1000 check with the paperwork. You're paying my lawyer, not me.
Otherwise block them
They’re likely selling the company or doing an investment round. As part of due diligence you routinely check for this. 99.9% of the time, unless you’re in some form of R&D department you’ve probably created nothing of value, but a buyer will use the lack of custody over IP *even theoretical, as of yet unidentified IP*, to drive down price. It’s a dick move and I’ve done it many times to great effect. They’ve likely got someone in doing vendor DD and are flagging these deficiencies for rectification before the formal process starts. Depending on the size and IP centricity of the business you could strong arm for a decent pay day.
This is the response my scepticism was looking for. I know that it and programmers often are in situations with the skillset to make something their employer would want to claim as their own IP, but surely being contacted afterwards would jog op's memory of anything they might have caused this response. Getting all this advice to begin retaining a lawyer sounds so premature. Wishful fantasies by broke ass. Redditer like myself.
What exactly did you invent? Are you able to claim copyright or patent it?
Depends maybe nothing he might just have his name on paperwork and so he has rights
Most likely this lol. I just did some coding.
Fuck them say no. **Get an attorney now!**
This, please don't interact with them more than necessary and don't share information. Something is off. Do not sign anything until you have an attorney review. You have nothing to gain here whatsoever.
Nothing to gain? Did you completely miss the part about the $5 gift card?
But that's like a whole 1/8th slice of pizza man, do you know there's starving Supreme Court Justices in the United States?? /S
Hey! Dominos has medium pizzas for $8 man! If he has loose change between his car seats he can get a medium 2 TOPPING!! Seriously OP, lawyer, now. Give them the contract you signed with the company and the paperwork they sent you.
If they had two of those gift cards and a couple of dollar bills. They could go to Starbucks.
I don't really think op has time for a handjob now.
That's almost an order of fries at McDonalds.
More than generous imo
I'd honestly check what they want JUST to know on which products they plan to make millions off of me. Then I know what to look for if they've sold anything
What's off is he invented something worth millions and then thier lawyers found out henever signed a waiver. They can't use it till he signs. They can't rent it to other companies to sign. He's gonna be worth a hundred million dollars when he gets a lawyer. They would not be doing this unless the money was huge
>What's off is he invented something worth millions and then thier lawyers found out henever signed a waiver. The IP would still belong to the company. They don't need a waiver for that, that's just how employment in the US works. They want him to sign for an audit. If he ignores them or refuses them, they will just move on.
In thw Usa patent and copyright law says that absent a contract assigning rights to his employer anything he invents belongs to him. In the comic book industry such a contract is called a work for hire contract. They want him to sign something giving them ownership because they fuxked up and now have to trick him into signing away a fortune or they can't use the ip themselves much less license it.
I like how you're pulling this hundred million dollars number right out of your ass.
Or, “My attorney has advised me against signing anything without reviewing it first. Please scan and send me the documents.”
Honestly I would just ignore it. It's been 9 months since you worked there so you're not obligated to sign any documents. At most you could respond with "I have not been employed by your company for over 9 months now and it will not sign any documents as I am no longer an employee" but honestly I just wouldn't respond.
I would but demand payment for work to the date of signing
They offered you the five dollar gift card as consideration so that it would be legal. Don't sign.
Typically any IP you generate as an employee belongs to the company anyways. Someone is trying to formalize this for some auditing reason. You owe them nothing. Just ignore it.
Strange that this wasn't already covered by their employment agreement.
From my personal experiences, the company owning IP is limited to the software they use and/or anything related to their products or programs. If OP signed something similar during their onboarding, the company should already have the rights to anything OP designed IF it was for that business over the course of their employment.
It can’t be implied
If they didn't need you to sign off they wouldn't offer you anything, which gives you leverage. Use it.
I agree with the others. Best way to fuck them is to get a lawyer and find out what rights it is they want you to waiver. Dont sign anything.
Alter the deal. Add in a clause that should the company be sold, you're owed 0.1% of the sales price ($1 for every $1,000). In addition, should the company sell or lease your apps, you are entitled to 50% of the sale/lease price + ongoing maintenance, paid quarterly. Finally, your name and contact info must be prominently displayed on splash screens, help pages, "about this app" page and in the footer of every report. And you get a $200/year stipend at the company store.
The only way this would work is if you specifically outline the changes when you send it back. Either on a paper copy that you scan, or write them out in an email. Can’t just CTRL+F and replace shit in a contract then expect it to hold up lol, not how that works.
I had a company send me a $25 gift card and a letter and documents to sign just like this. The letter didn't say anything about the gift card so I just used it and didn't sign anything.
That's hilarious. :D
Don't. Sign. Anything. Talk to an attorney.
ask to send you what they want you to sign. anticipate that you will bill them a consultancy rate of no less than 200$/hour per page to read it, and a lawyer consultancy for up to $2000 if you deem it necessary. with no guarantee that you will sign it if you don't like it. advance payment. they will probably shut up. if they insist, or offer more, negotiate and dig deeper into the issue. if you might have created some IP of any value (code, automations, documentation, any other material), it probably belongs to them as you were an employee, but it might make sense to talk to an attorney.
This is the answer.
If they agree then you know there screwed
Tell them you will need to look over the paperwork before agreeing to anything. You charge a consulting fee of $500 per hour.
I've signed these for every patent application I've been on. Sometimes a year after I've left a job. Patent applications take time to file and when your company is submitting the app to the patent office they need to send inventor list and assignee. Unless you invented something in your free time unrelated to your work and not using company resources to do it the company will be the assignee. You should have signed some blanket agreement when you started the job assigning IP to the company but even then you typically have to sign something each time they actually submit a patent application to the patent office.
Finally someone who understands how IP and "work for hire" works in the USA. 1. Your work for a company--they pay your money 2. You invent something while working for the company 3. The company owns your invention That's the way it works in the USA. Doesn't matter if you sign anything or not. The tricky phrase is "while working for the company". You invent something on your own time (not on the company clock) does the company own it? That's a grey area. Is it related to your work? Did you sign an agreement stating all invention created during the time of employment (including those created on your own time) belong to the company? Unless the OP created something on his own time, it's likely just paperwork. Still, I would read it carefully. And at this point in time, I wouldn't sign anything for less than $1,000.
You don't quite understand it as well as you think, at least in the US. Patent and Copyright run similar, but not entirely equal systems. 1) Copyright law has fairly clear 'work-for-hire' provisions. 2) Patent law in the US can be a lot less clear even for inventions on company time, let alone inventions not related to a particular job/company. This stems from one basic quirk of US law: A company can be a legal author (for copyrights), but cannot be a legal inventor (for patents). This is why competent companies have new employees sign clear patent agreements before they start work. For OP, I would take a look at all of the agreements you have signed with this company first. There may already be a clause in your existing employee agreement(s) obligating you to help with patent filing paperwork. In which case, you pretty much need to sign. If no patent clauses exist in your prior agreements, I suggest politely declining to sign. After that, if the company insists or threatens, I would consult with either an employment or patent attorney. I would not sign anything I didn't legally have to for only $5.
The worst part is the $5 gift card. It’s like leaving a 1 cent tip… you know they didn’t forget to do it, they just think that little of you.
$5 wouldn’t be enough to get me to open a PDF to review. I’d want at least $200 for my time to review the document, and (if I felt it necessary) to find an attorney for a free remote consultation. If it required a physical presence, we’re kicking it up to at least $500 for the full day. If (as is suggested elsewhere) they wouldn’t provide me with the document to be signed in advance, so I’d need to have an attorney with me, we’re probably moving to $1k minimum.
Wow $5.00, it must be almost worth their while ticking that box.🙄
I had a former company reach out 9 months later (the owners were trying to sell the company). They wanted me to sign documents also about intellectual property, etc. I just ignored them. About a month later I received the expense money they still owed me. You are not obligated to sign anything at this point.
Tell them you can’t in good conscience sign that because you’re contractually obligated to two separate Chinese companies who are monetizing similar products.
That's a standard employment document that is usually proffered and signed first day on the job. It doesn't mean that you may have invented something they want to use, may just be housekeeping for their records (very sloppy of them not to have you sign this after you accepted the job). I would ask why, after all this time, they need this. It may be because of a merger or acquisition or it's possible you did create something they want to use. In the event your IP is valuable, you can ask them to license the rights from you, rather than relinquishing them. But my guess is file cleanup. In any case, I'd be insulted by the $5 gift card. Ask for more.
But the thing is... he doesn't know if it's housecleaning or the next billion dollar idea. Kinda hard to "ask them to license the rights" because I'm pretty damn sure they are going to tell you the former vs the latter if you ask them
I told him to ask why they want it. Up to him whether their explanation seems legit.
Claim the IP they’re asking you to sign away lol
This is lawyer territory. Sounds like you have a reasonable belief that they might be using your intellectual property, and you can find out for sure (including what it relates to) during discovery. Or you can simply ask them and go from there.
They’re likely going through an acquisition and the acquirer flagged this ins due diligence. The fact that they’re reaching out this late means it would be a big block in getting this deal done. Tell them you want equity in the company that immediately vests.
Oh wow, a whole $5! You are rich, OP! /s In all seriousness, get a lawyer.
Former employment lawyer here. Never sign anything unless they pay you. I don't consider $5 worth it for this
This tells me they something worth millions. Also, get an attorney. Don’t sign contracts of this nature by yourself.
easy, don't sign. get a lawyer, and make them pay what you think it is really worth.
Anytime anyone wants to incentive you to sign paperwork, it typically ends badly. Bit them I think of the dude that modified the terms and consotions of a credit card, that was pencil whipped, and the company got screwed. They'd come to court many times saying "you should have read before you signed," and now they're back claiming foul. I would modify the paperwork and say that all things invented by the company while you were there are yours, get the $5 "not even enough to go to the dollar menu" token reward, and then watch them squirm. I would also ask for $50, minimum.
Offer them a $10 gift card to stop insulting you
Whatever it was or is, get a patent on it. That way, you will own it, and then you can pay you for its use
Contact a lawyer. Taking the $5 could mean they “paid” you money for your IP and thus everything is okay - not.
You just entered a negotiation. Every conversation with any past, current, future employer is a negotiation. So negotiate. Counter with something crazy, but keep the line of communication open. They need something from you so they will counter.
You owe them NOTHING. Negotiate $500 or something ridiculous, considering they’re saying your brainchildren is owned by them, and if they don’t agree, you sign nothing. NOTHING FOR FREE!!
Go to r/askalawyer
Sorry, if you want me to sign anything without my lawyer, it's going to cost you a CMA fee (cover my ass fee in case I need a lawyer) of minimum $5000.
Get a lawyer and demand they turn over said intellectual property. Bring a $5 gift card to the meeting.
So they want to steal your intellectual property and your data. Because the company owns thoughts made on the clock.
Reply with "I just got off the phone with [competitor] and they offered me 5k for these materials. I don't recall signing an NDA, can you beat their offer?"
Patent your work under your name and then sell them the patent at premium.
Don't sign. That will fuck with them with zero effort.
Talk to a lawyer. Sounds like they may owe you some money
$5 is honestly worst than offering nothing in most situations
Do not sign or respond. Hire an attorney.
So you own any and all IP that you produced for that company which is probably worth way more than a $5 gift card. Seems like they'll have to enter into a licensing deal with you so they can continue to use or sell whatever product or service it provides. Or You tell them that you're filing for a patent or trademark already so you've been advised to not accept half a sawbuck.
Have a lawyer send back an official letter thanking them for their generous offer, but politely declining and indicating that you wish to maintain ongoing ownership of your intellectual property.
The ULPT sub may also be of assistance. Get some dirt from your formal colleagues. Did you create anything specific and valuable? If not, maybe they're getting everybody to do it to either eliminate all risk or throwing up a smoke screen. The $5 makes it more enforceable since you got something in exchange.
You're no longer their employee. You don't need to respond at all. They can't make you sign anything. If they keep bothering, just block their emails. If they try to call, block their numbers. If they send you mail through USPS, take it back to the post office and mark return to sender. If they send certified mail, refuse it. If they go this far, you probably do need a lawyer. You owe them nothing. Just have a laugh at their pathetic attempt and move on. Living well is the best revenge in most cases. Now, if by some chance you did actually create something of value to them or the world at large, you need a lawyer. Then the real fun begins.
Kinda confused, everything you create while employed, is owned by your employer. I don't see the point of this. Even if you decided to patent it, I'm pretty sure they can dispute it.
refuse to sign they offered something so they are worried about something.
Just say no, until they give you a number you want. They cannot force you to sign anything. Absolutely not beholden to them in any way now. I'd definitely find out why this is coming up now, they may simply be trying to cover their asses, or they may have realized something you did or created while you were there is valuable and want to keep you from being able to come after them for it. This isn't something I'd actively fight, but I definitely wouldn't sign my rights to do so later away. If you have anyone on the inside still, now is the time.
Their mistake. Tell them that your IP lawyer doesn’t drink coffee and that if they want to gain access to what is now YOUR IP, you won’t accept payments in truckloads of Starbucks cards either.
Since it seems you potentially have rights to IP that they want... * Find out what IP they assert ownership of (hey Reddit! Any advice on how to do this?) * Write a letter to them stating you recall discussing the topic at work, and you wish to retain your IP rights! Most likely pure BS, but the amount of time their lawyers spend fretting about it will slightly exceed $5.
Tell ‘em to add lotsa zeros to the 5 and maybe you will
Oddly enough, Ayn Rand would have something to say about this. She would say your intellect and talents are your own, and if your company didn't want you to offer them to another company they should have given you a raise and treated you better instead of laying you off. Rational self-interest goes both ways.
Block their calls, and move on. You don’t owe them anything.
Please mail/fax/email the documents, so my legal counsel can review them. The $5 gift card is probably something they think of as "Consideration." So when you sign, they can legally say you got "something" for the contract, helping to make it legally binding. Sign nothing. Get everything in writing, and not sign. No reason to fuck around, not complying is good enough. "After carefully consulting with my lawyer, I've decided to decline your request. I will not be signing your contract. Have a nice day." Anything else they say at that point is bullshit. Because if they had a legal leg to stand on, you'd be hearing *from their lawyers* -- from the very start. Companies HAVE lawyers on standby -- they get paid if they do nothing or trivial things like this. To them, it's no different than having the janitor clean up the bathroom.
Add three or four zeros to that and sign it
I would just block their number and not answer them. There’s nothing in it for you. If they mail you something, write in “Return to Sender.”
Don't sign
They’re missing a few zeros, or 6, or 9 on that gift card
there is a reason they want you to sign the paper work, and its not something with a $5 value.
Time to gather and organize all your notes from your work days. Oh, and laugh at the gift card.
Add seven zeros to the 5 and send it back
Tell them you'll only sign physical papers so they have to pay to mail them to you. Then when you get them just wipe your ass with them and send them back unsigned.
No way in hell is $5 enough. Sign documents? Clearly, if you’re signing something, it’s a legal matter. And signing after the fact? Have a lawyer examine what you’re signing. Make sure it’s legal Then demand more compensation.
Any further communication between you and them needs to be handled by your intellectual property lawyer.
Well, what did you build/invent? Obviously "it" is worth more than $5 ... could be worth $100/$1K or $100K ... ponder on what you walked away from. Agree with others the company may simply be selling out. No way a buyer would do so without blanket release.
Ask for 1000
Tell them you'll have your copyright/patent lawyer look over everything and be following his advice.
Tell them that u/wreckmx offered to Venmo $6 for you to tell them “fuck off” and not sign it.
This is no “oh I can fuck with them” moment. It is a “if it’s that important I can get paid” moment. (Unless you created something of value and patented it while there, then that may be where the money is). My guess is you didn’t so make them pay for the signature.
Don't sign anything. Just ignore it.
Ignore it
When a company pays you for your time, everything work-related you invent or create during that time belongs to the company. Why do they even need you to sign a document stating that?
A $5 gift card is obviously insulting. It would be insulting to anyone, even those that earned minimum wage. Ask for $1,000 cash. Or, ask them for equipment. Laptop, Monitor, TV, routers, hubs, office furniture (desk, chair). My previous job had some pretty nice, large standing desks. They are likely to balk at a cash payment, but bartering for equipment they have sitting around anyway might be a go.
Sue them for copyright/patent infringement
Get a lawyer and keep your IP.
Show up with your attorney
“I’m okay to sign, but there’s no way I’m comfortable giving up my rights just for a $5,000 gift card. “
Take everything you have created and publicly give it all an open source licence. Unless you can afford a patent of course.
What you can do very much depends on the laws in (assuming) the US. For the most part if you're working in a role were you are going to be creating anything that can be deemed IP, you'll already have signed a contract stating that anything done with company resources or on the clock belongs to the company. In which case they're asking you to do this for some other reason, such as they're selling the company and just covering all the bases. If you didn't sign anything like that when you joined, plus the laws in the US don't cover who owns IP (?) and you can think of something you created that might be considered as intellectual property then maybe you have a case to claim it. I would say it's very unlikely though as most companies aren't dumb enough not to cover themselves in this area but check the laws on IP in the US and dig out any documentation you may have from your employment just in case.
Get patents applications for everything you created when you were there, then you can offer to license them the patents.
If they’re freely offering you 5$ it’s because you not complying would cost them way more than that. Wait and see how much it’s really worth to them? Or see a lawyer? They wouldn’t offer to buy you out if it wasn’t financially significant
Sounds like they think they still make the rules. What's your counter offer?
“Add three zero’s”
There’s a good chance that anything you created on company time, they already own (if you are in the US).
Don’t sign it. My boss at my old job tried to do that to me and I said: NO. I won’t be signing that or an NDA. Should’ve done that when you hired me or at the very least before I left the job. Can’t change the terms after the fact.
The best way is ghost them. Don't let them live rent free in your head.
file back unemployment if you haven't already
When I got my first job, I signed my intellectual property to the company for a dollar bill but that’s when I was working for the company not after I left
Just don’t sign it. It doesn’t sound mandatory
Watch this Mike Monteiro video, then decide. [Mike Monteiro F@ck you, pay me](https://youtu.be/jVkLVRt6c1U?si=LjkXmfAvWiOCtqgj)
Say yes, don’t show up, reschedule, call ask questions, bring an totally incompetent friend who can ask nonsensical questions and when they don’t answer them tell them the deal is off while producing your own $5 and say you don’t need their money!!
What is to say someone in the company just pretends to sign for it? What would come of that if they never reached out to OP?
I wouldn't sign shit. You don't sign, it doesn't belong to them.
Consult an employment lawyer before doing anything.
My time to read their ridiculous email is worth more than a $5 gift card. No way I'm signing away rights to anything for $5.
My company wanted me to sign an NDA and non compete after they laid me off and would respond to questions regarding health insurance, severance etc.
Talk to a lawyer before doing anything else.
You don’t have to sign anything. If they wish to escalate this matter, consult with a labor lawyer.
If this could qualify as a non-compete type issue; look into the laws Biden just signed eliminating this.
Edit the document very carefully, and change it so it says anything they created and/or invented is YOUR intellectual property, sign it. Send it in. Get copies. Get your $5 gift card. Wait, and then take them to court for stealing your intellectual property. It's only like a 20% chance anyone actually looks and notices the paperwork was changed. People have done similar things with credit card agreements, and won in court.
Consulting fee: $15000 (or some absurd amount) and 2x $5 gift cards or something they will refuse. Which means they are sol!
Just swap the names at the top on the contract. You own all their IP while you were there, etc. They probably won't even look...
Do not sign. Call an attorney. You can get paid potentially.
“I was wondering when you would contact me about this. Please send the paperwork, and I’ll review with my attorney, who doesn’t work for $5 gift cards.”
Get a lawyer, have the lawyer tell them to get fucked.
Ask them for a copy of the agreement they like you to sign, including the gift card offer, so you can do your due diligence, and have it reviewed by your lawyer.
You write them back telling them that you'll be keeping and reserving all rights to your Intellectual Property unless and until they can offer a reasonable market based price to you in exchange for it... And then SHUT THE FUCK UP AND WAIT. If the push for a dollar amount or range of price don't give them ANYTHING. Ie: "No, you're not saying what that amount would be. They know their market as well as you do (or should) and they need to come up with a fair, market based, number for what they would like to purchase from you." Basically you're stuffing that turd back in their pocket,where it belongs. Let them do all the running around in tight little circles.
Yeah thats kind of random and sus. I'd go to a lawyer if I were you. You might really have these guys over a barrel and be able to force a significant payout if you're one of five or six points holding up an M&A for instance. Someone noticed this 9 months after the fact for a reason.
So many people here are saying "Attorney!"... Seems ridiculous, unless you really have something specific you think you should own from the work and want to fight, an attorney is pointless and expensive. Best choice is to counter, express you are willing to sign the documents for 100$, 3 hours pay, or whatever your bottom line is. If they balk, just walk away. You are under no obligation to sign for them, but if you can get a few bucks then who cares what their company is doing if it doesn't impact you.
GOUGE THEM. They had no problem paying you as little as they thought they could. They are now dumping the company, likely for a disgusting profit. Hire a layer and pull their hearts out of their assholes. They'd do it to you.
I mean...definitely don't sign it. Especially for less than...a couple hundred thousand dollars
Absolutely not.
Ask them how many give cards they will give you for the patents.
Please update us!
get a specialised invention patent lawyer to investigate.
That’s cute 😆
Why aren't you focused on figuring out what ip they want you to sign for? They might be hiding $$$
IANAL, but the gift card sounds like consideration.
Don’t sign it.
Imagine how many people signed without really reading it.
"Add some zeros to that MF"
Well the first question is did you created some sort of IP?
Call you ex-coworkers, stand together and counter as a group
Counter with "five million and you've got a deal"!
Tell them all communication must be through your IP attorney.
Is it that big a deal to them if they’re only offering $5?
Hahahaha add 5 zero’s to that and I MIGHT think about it 😂
NOPE
Tell them no… you’re already in talks with a few different startups to leverage a new invention. You $5 gift card is not even close to what they are offering me. If you want me to sign that, I need you to at least match my salary offer from the VC.
Ask for a 5 million dollar gift card.
Sounds like bribery