By CATHY MPUTHIA
In today’s labour market, there is a lot of
competition for talented employees, especially for businesses in the
innovation sector.
There are cases of rivals in the supply market competing for the best people and offering them attractive remuneration.
The worry in this segment is the likelihood of
undue disclosure of business secrets to a competitor by the exiting
staff. Take the example of this lady who owned a fashion design shop.
Her products were unique.
She is the one who did all the designing and
trusted her tailors to do the stitching and final work. However, one of
her tailors resigned and started his own fashion shop using designs from
this lady.
Many businesses face the same problem and this is
why today I want employers to understand the nexus between employment
regulations and intellectual property laws.
This is especially relevant for businesses in the innovation sector that rely heavily on research and development.
In some businesses all employees are expected to
contribute to innovation while in others only a few select staff or a
department are expected to contribute to innovation.
However, a number of organisations hire consultants to work on specific projects.
The first thing to understand is the staff’s
general terms of employment. Is the employee permanent or hired on
contract basis? The business also needs to distinguish between an
independent contractor and an employee.
In the case where all staff are expected to
participate in innovation, then the employment contract should be
general and similar for all. Where it is only a few select members or a
department then their terms should be different.
When it comes to independent contractors, the venture contract should include issues of intellectual property.
Why is it important for an employer to safeguard
intellectual property in an employer-employee relationship? It must be
understood that a worker has access to a lot of the confidential
business information.
This should be safeguarded from third parties.
Secondly, an intellectual property is not only a right but also an
asset. In the same way one takes steps to protect one’s property, it’s
also important to secure intellectual property.
My approach to intellectual property protection
would be to encourage employers to look at it from an asset management
angle and not just creating some rights.
Understanding that intellectual property is an
intangible asset of your business will perhaps enhance its management.
The employer-employee relationship is never permanent and it is subject
to termination at any time.
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