Ask HN: Staffing contract with IP clause, normal?
Now I'm filling out the small staffing companies "proprietary information agreement", with reasonable things such as "at will employment" and "confidential info" clauses. Inside I found a full-on intellectual property clause, containing everything from "inventions" to copyrightable works.
Not only do I find this strange that a staffing agency is worried about IP, or even has IP to worry about, but this clause has to be in conflict with the big companies IP agreements that I've already signed.
I also don't know how a staffing agency delineates when you are working for them and when you are not. Put in your 9-5 and go home, are you still working for them? How about between assignments. None of it seems clear in the agreement.
To give you an example of how vague and encompassing it is ("Company" is defined earlier as the staffing agency), from the contract:
Ownership of Intellectual Property. Employee acknowledges that “Intellectual Property” (as defined below) is the exclusive property of the Company. “Intellectual Property” is defined to include the following categories that are generated, authored or contributed by Employee at any time during Employee’s relationship with the Company (whether as a consultant, independent contractor or employee, and whether prior to or after the execution of this Agreement):
Should I be concerned? Is this just boilerplate, and oversight, or a hard core contract?