Ask HN: Non-compete: how do I prove when I started a project?

4 points by eeeeaaii 14 years ago | 6 comments

I have a project I've been working on for about a year in my personal time (weekends, nights, etc) when not at work. It's basically a game. I was planning to launch this on the web at some point in the coming few months, and later on in the app store/android market if possible. So, the thing is, I just received a job offer from a large tech company and I'd like to accept. They will ask me to sign a non-compete (it's legal where they are). But the problem is that, unlike my previous company, this company is in many different lines of business, including games. So there is overlap there. I have been reading up on non-competes and it looks like they are non-enforcable unless the company can demonstrate that confidential information/trade secrets was actually stolen and used to help the competitor in question. So the thing is, most of the code for this project is already written. But if the game became popular and they came after me, how would I prove that? It's not open source so I can't point to a github commit history or anything like that. Do courts look at modification dates/times on files? I realize this probably paranoid, I doubt this company is going to come after me for my hobby iphone app or whatever. However I'm just wondering if anyone has any insight into what I should do in this situation. (also, I won't actually be working in the games division itself, if that makes any difference). Thanks HN.

scottyallen 14 years ago |

You should be upfront about this with them, before you take the job, rather than trying to cover your ass if they find out about it. Most companies I've worked for in California (where, granted, noncompetes are not enforceable) had me fill out a prior inventions disclosure form as part of signing an NDA. I listed out the IP for my existing personal projects, with the idea that they would respect that and not try and claim ownership of it.

Note that this is significantly more tricky if you work on something at the company that's in a competitive space, ie, their games division.

devs1010 14 years ago |

Just to clarify, you say its where they are... Is this also where you are, or would you be working remotely? You may need to consult a lawyer as I'm not 100% sure on this but my understanding is its based on where the employee lives, so if you live somewhere where its not enforceable it wouldn't matter if the company is based somewhere where it is enforceable

moocow01 14 years ago |

You know you can cross out lines in your contract? Don't agree to anything you're not comfortable with. I usually cross out at least a quarter of the stipulations in contracts - never had any company say too much about it.

eeeeaaii 14 years ago | |

I thought about that, I could always do that as a last resort. But when I've done this on leases, for example, both parties had to initial it.

anujkk 14 years ago |

You can host it on private github repository or any similar service, before signing non-compete. If that is not enough, you may want to let your employer know about this through email or add it to your resume.

eeeeaaii 14 years ago | |

thanks, that's a good idea.