UNTANGLING THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY-RIGHTS OF EMPLOYERS, EMPLOYEES, INVENTORS, AND INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS

Employees, consultants, contract employees, and other independent cont ractors often create valuable intellectual property for their employer s. Questions may arise concerning the conflicting rights of these inve ntors and their employers in copyrighted works, inventions, trade secr ets, and trademarks, especially where the employee or independent cont ractor helped develop the intellectual property in the first place. In order to avoid such conflicts, this article summarizes how the effect ive use of employment contracts and agreements can maximize a corporat ion's ability to protect its intellectual property assets.