Job Hunting

Cad said:

The 18 months is from the earliest date your patent claims priority from, which can end up being earlier than 18 months. It could be published immediately if its a continuation or derivation patent.

This gets off in the weeds VERY quickly, but did you sign an NDA? Patent stuff is generally public so there's no recourse against you for disclosing it unless you're violating an NDA, something patented can't also be a trade secret, so you can't get additional liability that way.

If you want real legal advice you should probably hire an employment lawyer to navigate the exact contours of what you could disclose. To be safe I just wouldn't say anything about a patent, I'd just give generally what your work was, unless even the subject is covered by an NDA.

Click to expand...

I have various confidentiality agreements with my employer but I don't recall signing specifically an NDA. I do recall our legal department saying not to disclose details of the patent and that if we do, it can only be under NDA.

One thing it says: "You agree not to disclose, record, or make use of confidential information so long as such information remains nonpublic".

So I guess by saying I invented an alternative to gasoline powered vehicles, I have provided confidential information on my resume, but not such that it violates any patent since I provided no details about it. If anything this is an issue with trade secret confidentiality, but I'm not so sure.

Out of all the companies I applied to, only one is even capable of building any components so I doubt anything happens. The other companies just do design and consulting work.

I will probably consult with an employment lawyer.. unless you think patent lawyer is more appropriate.

Cad said:

The 18 months is from the earliest date your patent claims priority from, which can end up being earlier than 18 months. It could be published immediately if its a continuation or derivation patent.

This gets off in the weeds VERY quickly, but did you sign an NDA? Patent stuff is generally public so there's no recourse against you for disclosing it unless you're violating an NDA, something patented can't also be a trade secret, so you can't get additional liability that way.

If you want real legal advice you should probably hire an employment lawyer to navigate the exact contours of what you could disclose. To be safe I just wouldn't say anything about a patent, I'd just give generally what your work was, unless even the subject is covered by an NDA.

Click to expand...

One more thing; what I've mentioned can't be a trade secret right? According to this site: What kind of information can qualify as a trade secret?

"the information must derive “independent economic value” from “not being generally known” or “readily ascertainable.” If information is worthless to a business’s competitors, it is not a trade secret, even if it has value for the business that identified it. "

So if I'm saying on my resume I invented a water powered car, that isn't a trade secret because that information is worthless to a competitor. What are they going to do with that information? There's no details of how the car works, what components it uses, etc, so it's worthless information.

That leads me to believe what I wrote is fair game and not an issue.

tugofpeace said:

Question for you all..

Basically, let's say I found a way to make cars run on water instead of fuel. What my resume says is this:

"Invented an alternative to gasoline powered cars in the automotive industry which substantially reduced costs (patent pending)."

Is that considered a breach of confidentiality to my employer? I listed no details of the design, no patent number, no name for the patent, etc. Wondering if any company I submit my resume to would reach out to my employer trying to figure out what it is, while giving them my name.

Click to expand...

I'd leave it off. I've never seen any patent whatsoever on someone's resume that would move the needle and now you're talking some vague description with no details that you probably legally couldn't actually describe if I asked. I'd also consider it a red flag if you had too many patents - you're probably just scamming the company's invention record system.

Now, if you already did this, I'd say it was a horrible idea - you're maybe in the clear legally, but it's an unnecessary risk to violating any NDA you have. Doubt a competitor would reach out, but I have shared resumes internally that overshared - mostly a "hey look guys, company x is working on the same thing we are."