Ask HN: Having to waive copyright to works created/derived during an interview?

5 points by thefastlane 9 years ago | 4 comments

From Karat, an company that does nothing but conduct technical interviews for other companies:

"Karat owns all rights, title, and interest in the Interview and any works derived therefrom, including all copyright, and you hereby assign, transfer, and convey to Karat any and all rights you may have in the Interview."

...and...

"Karat may ... use all Interview content and data, including your name, likeness, and voice, for its own internal purposes."

none of this seems normal to me. thoughts?

edit: karat is a 'technical interview' vendor facilitating online technical interviews -- you are ultimately interviewing for some other company. (also, i did not intend to give karat any press per se. it might've been better to have left the name out.)

kafkaesq 9 years ago |

None of this seems normal to me. Thoughts?

Their reasoning is probably that this will (1) prevent other companies from copying their process (such as the minutiae of their interview questions), and (2) discourage answer-sharing (on sites such as Glassdoor) and last but not least (3) discourage whistleblowing (or any other public exposure) of said techniques and processes, which -- if par for the course in this industry -- are likely to be just as half-baked, shoddy, and/or downright nutty as at anyplace else.

And to do (1)+(2)+(3) with significant muscle, i.e. ammunition to sue your pants of with, if they can catch and identify you that is.

Is it "normal"? Well it don't seem like common practice -- yet (but then again I haven't looked too closely at the fine print on the few interview "services" I've reluctantly used in the recent past).

To my ears it definitely feels invasive and creepy. But what matters is whether it's normal for you, which is entirely up to you to decide. And if it doesn't feel right -- well, it's like any other humiliation companies try to make you go through in exchange for the privilege of feeding at their table. It's tough to make the call sometimes, but fortunately (in the current climate at least) the market should be firmly on your side, by and large.

sova 9 years ago |

Consider anything you could "sign" to be in negotiation until you do. You can strike things out that you don't agree to, even rewrite the language and initial by it. That way you can agree to a "line-item vetoed" version of whatever it is you are signing. It's up to the other entity to "accept" your new terms. Typically they do without a second glance. People always try and get you to waive rights to your stuff. I just cross it out and move along. If they don't like it, tough.

thefastlane 9 years ago | |

unfortunately, not as feasible when it's an online assessment, but i appreciate where you're coming from.

username223 9 years ago |

That seems pretty normal to me: most EULAs and employment contracts are some version of "we reserve as many rights as we can." I assume Karat also has a binding arbitration clause.