Mr Fro Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 f**k, f**k, f**king hell, f**k, f**kery! My employer has marvelously decided that a device that I made in my garage, using things that I bought with my money which allows a bit of lab kit to function rather than hideously overheat is no longer mine but actually theirs.They want to ship the kit to the US so I said (nicely) they need to pay me for it or I'd take it off.Que a secret telecon I found out about second hand where apparently I got torn to shreds. Got called in to a meeting with the site head earlier who told me I no longer owned it and that if I removed it, I'd be disciplined and dismissed for sabotaging company property - thus forfeiting my redundancy.I tried to explain that the device is my property, the components of which I paid for but the guy wouldn't listen.What the f**king f**k? What they're doing amounts to theft (appropriating property belonging to another). I'm so f**king angry that I'm again getting the royal shaft from these guys. Insult to injury is that none of the people who made this majestic decision will openly discuss it with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joeman Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 That Sucks!!Check your contract, many have a section about intellectual property belonging to the company if its developed/tested on company time.. On the bright side now it's public domain nobody can patent it so when you leave you can still make and sell it yourself and patent the version2.0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoggs Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 There's only one solution to this. Burn the building down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fro Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Interesting idea Hoggs - I think I'd thoroughly kiss my redundancy goodbye if things went that way though.I already got bent over for the patent Joe - I just want cash for the physical thing. There is no alternative and my device has a huge amount of data that shows that it works. It's even going in a paper that's going out in a journal in the next month or so.I'm staggered by the arrogance if I'm honest. It's just not the way to do business. If I were them, I'd be chuffed to bollocks that a major problem was solved and I'd saved a huge wedge of cash. I'd certainly make sure the guy who came up with it got compensated adequately for what he'd done. No way would I let him go out of pocket for saving me half a million and giving me a huge competitive advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_W Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Check the contract. If nothing in there about the intellectual property they can't take it.Otherwise cripple it before it ships. Blame the courier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRH Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 That stinks Fro. As a minimum they should cover the costs. Lots of companies have clauses that make it hard for employees to patent something that benefits the companies products, but not to reward innovation is not on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 Modify it before it ships, Fro.......so it has the reverse effect..... Yeah, most companies have an intellectual property clause.......not sure how it would stand up in a court though......There must be a cutoff point where they can't lay claim to it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fro Posted February 15, 2016 Share Posted February 15, 2016 The IP ship sailed long ago - the lawyer people took a bit of a far fetched view on the wording of my contract. They stated that they weren't going to do anything with it so between the lines it was so I couldn't market it and lose the company their advantage.That's one annoyance and naivety on my part but effectively stealing my property is really winding me up.Threatening to take my redundancy if I take something that is lawfully mine is ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RantMachine Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 +1 sabotage.Modify it so that it works fine in a UK power socket but explodes or catches fire when connected to a US plug.No, I don't know how the hell you'd do that. My job is to have pretty ideas, not to do the whole "make it practical" thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gin Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Aww That's Really Crap What w**kers.. Really sorry to hear it Fro.. I'm with all the others.. f**k it up and blame it on transit.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fro Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 I'm not going destructivise it although it would amuse me if when they plugged it in, it made a farty noise and stank out their lab. I don't know how I'd do that in a way that it was impossible to turn off but I can dream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzie Posted February 16, 2016 Share Posted February 16, 2016 Buy stink bombs, the ones with the tiny vials that stink out an entire street.Place many inside various parts of the device, particularly the power supply where it gets hot. Replace the caps with tiny metal pieces (You have a lathe I take it). Use a metal most prone to expansion, and trim it down so when it's cold it makes a very snug fit. The heat will cause expansion, the bottle will crack, the bomb will leak, and you my friend will be the reason someone passes out 5000 miles away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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