Typically, when we sign contracts to go work for Acme Plc or some such company, we’re signing up to a clause buried deep in the small print that effectively says “any good ideas you have while you’re under contract belong to us”. Most programmers are smart, creative people, and when we have a great idea, we just can’t resist sharing it. The success of Open Source software is a testament to just how keen we are to get our ideas out there, at any – or in this case, no – cost. I think sometimes our employers take advantage of that.
I’m personally not a big fan of the whole idea of intellectual property. I believe the legal red tape surrounding IP creates a culture that stifles innovation and holds the industry back. I don’t think that companies should necessarily give their software away, but I also feel very strongly that they shouldn’t sit on new ideas at the expense of genuine progress.
Having said that, I think many creative freelancers and employees get a raw deal on their own innovations. If you develop an idea in your own time that could save your client or employer millions, what’s in it for you? You get paid the same regardless.
What if you came in off the street and said “I have an idea that could save you 10% of your IT costs”? How much might they be willing to pay to hear it? I’m constantly frustrated at how some companies will pay telephone-number sums to external consultants and suppliers for the most basic advice, while they try to squeeze every last drop of innovation and creativity out of their beleaguered workers for no extra reward.
So if you have a whiz-bang solution to an expensive business or IT problem, what should you do? Keep it under wraps until you figure out what it might be worth, or hand it over like a good little knowledge worker? It’s a dilemma, for sure.
A Contractor from London
Published: Friday, January 20, 2006
© 2012 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Please see our copyright notice.
If you want to use any content you have seen on this site then
please request our media pack and
ask for details of our Content Licencing Service.