Don't Think At Work

from the your-employer-owns-your-thoughts dept

I know that I've worked at places that have made me sign forms saying that any invention I came up with while employed belonged to the company. It seems, this applies to "inventions" that are completely in your mind, as well. According to the Register, some guy who had thought about a certain problem and mentioned it to his employer, suddenly found that they owned the rights to his ideas and ordered him to reveal his thoughts. After many legal battles, the courts have agreed, and he's been told to cough up what's in his mind. Update: Thanks to a comment below, here is a more detailed version of the story, suggesting that the guy has hurt his case by defending himself.