> but companies deserve the right to protect their IP
Sure. What I have in my head isn't the companies IP though, it's my experience.
"IP" is often confused with "the collective experience of your employees". IP is physical artifacts such as code, drawings, patents etc. The memory of having written that code is not part of the IP, nor is the capability of doing it again in a fraction of the time.
> Again - 100% false. A lot of 'what is in your head' is the IP of the company you worked for.
I consider most of it "experience". How would you draw the line between what is "experience" and what is "IP"?
> you people seem to accept that NDA's are valid.
> 'NDA' is valid, means you accept that 'what is in your head' can be the property of the company
Well it rather means that I can't disclose things to certain people at certain times. I accept that e.g. for unreleased products and other secrets.
> to keep information about the company private - indefinitely.
Not sure what that means? If I work for ABC corp to develop over 10 years some advanced tech for ad targeting, and I have a non-compete that doesn't let me go to google for a year. For that full year they pay me full salary. That is the non-compete. I accept that (only with full salary). While at ABC, I had an NDA. That's cool.
After that year I can clean room implement something similar. I might have to avoid making the exact same system I did at ABC corp if there are IP issues such as patents. Note that this IP (patents) is not secret. I don't necessarily agree with software patents of most kinds however.
I develop the similar system at google in 1 year. That's what experience does: I take none of the dead ends I did at ABC corp. That's why google can pay me a load of money: I have experience. Is that experience in large part the SAME as ABC corps "IP"? yes. Of course.
Do they "own" all of that experience? No. They still have their product. They own that. Google will have a product too, which they own. I wrote both.
An NDA and a non-compete are not the same thing. What you are describing is an NDA. It is quite possible for someone to change jobs, even in the same industry, and still abide by an NDA.
Sure. What I have in my head isn't the companies IP though, it's my experience.
"IP" is often confused with "the collective experience of your employees". IP is physical artifacts such as code, drawings, patents etc. The memory of having written that code is not part of the IP, nor is the capability of doing it again in a fraction of the time.