🚀 go-pugleaf

jbotz@mtholyoke.edu (Jurgen Botz) writes:

>It simply isn't true... just being employed DOES NOT cause you to
>automatically lose all rights over your work.  Your employer has to
>explicitly enter into an agreement with you in this regard, and you
>have to sign it.  Otherwise what you create is yours, and without a
>document with your signature on it no court of law (in the USA) would
>find for your employer.

Typical of generalizations, your assertions are wrong in at least 
the state of Georgia.  Georgia passed a law a few years ago that
stacks the deck strongly in favor of the employer regarding 
intellectual property.  How this applies to academics is unknown,
as there have been no test cases.

None of this applies, of course, to tangible assets.  Who owns the 
equipment, software, etc would be governed by the contract between
the university and the payor.  Being someone who has purchased 
university research, I can assure you my contracts have specified
the university controls their side of the deal.  Last thing I'd
want would be for some professor to get his ass in a snit and
run off to God knows where with my money and my equipment.
I normally donate my equipment involved  to the UNIVERSITY after
the project is finished.  

Reading this thread, two thoughts come to mind.  From the original 
prof's own words, I conclude he's being a prick over a turf war
he cannot win and that he'll probably kiss tenure goodbye.  Secondly,
if this is representative of academic "research" today, something
is badly wrong.

John
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