> On Feb 12, 2015, at 5:43 PM, Ahad Aboss <a...@telcoinabox.com> wrote: > > Hi Skeeve, > > In a sense, you are an artist as network architecture is an art in itself. > It involves interaction with time, processes, people and things or an > intersection between all. And to that, artwork would fall under copyright *Sarcasm*? +1 on art form! More like an abstract martial art really. PacketFu! > > As an architect, you analyze customer needs and design a solution using > your creative ideas to address their business driven needs today. In some > ways, this is easier because creating a If you are a consultant wouldn’t that fall under work for hire? If you are an employee? Check the contract, I am betting there is a clause for IP ownership!
> business centric network provides you some parameters to design within. > You might mix and match technologies that will suite one business better > than the other but it's your creative ideas. It's not secrets of their > trade that you replicate or takeaway. You are master of the trade and you > design a solution that works best for them. > > While some design principles for application service provider, enterprise, > carrier or ISP have similarities, no two network is the same. > > If you don't claim IP on the design or publish company names you've done > the designs for, under what jurisdiction can they claim what you designed > is their IP? What if their requirement changes in 6 months from now? > > If a architect designs a road system in a particular way, does it mean > he/she can't design another road again because of IP issue? > > I would tend to disagree. +1 > > It may not answer your questions but I hope it provides some content to > support your case :) > > Regards, > Ahad > > > -----Original Message----- > From: NANOG [mailto:nanog-boun...@nanog.org] On Behalf Of Owen DeLong > Sent: Friday, 13 February 2015 6:46 AM > To: William Herrin > Cc: nanog@nanog.org > Subject: Re: Intellectual Property in Network Design > > The extent to which this is technically feasible and how one must go about > it actually varies greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. > > Something well worth considering given the number of jurisdictions already > mentioned in the current discussion. > > There are a number of possible concerns that the customer in question may > be attempting to solve with their request. The first step is to identify > which concern(s) they want to address. > > 1. Do they want to make sure that they have sufficient rights > in > the design that they can replicate/modify/otherwise use it > without further compensating you? > > 2. Do they want to make sure that you surrender your rights > in > the design so that you are not able to provide an > identical > solution to another customer in the future and/or that you > do > not use their design as an example or case study for your > marketing purposes? > > 3. Do they not really have a concern, but someone told them > that it was important to ask this question? > > 4. Do they want to make sure this treated as a "work for > hire" > with all the legal implications that caries? > > There are probably others that I am not thinking of at the moment. > > Owen > >> On Feb 12, 2015, at 08:18 , William Herrin <b...@herrin.us> wrote: >> >> On Thu, Feb 12, 2015 at 7:36 AM, Skeeve Stevens >> <skeeve+na...@eintellegonetworks.com> wrote: >>> Actually Bill... I have two (conflicting) perspectives as I said.... >>> but to >>> clarify: >>> >>> 1) A customer asked 'Can you make sure we have the IP for the network >>> design' which I was wondering if it is even technically possible.... >> >> Hi Skeeve, >> >> IANAL but I play one when I can get away with it. >> >> This is usually covered as, "Contractor agrees to provide Customer >> with all documents, diagrams, software or other materials produced in >> the course of the contract. Contractor shall upon request assign all >> ownership of such materials to Customer. Contractor shall retain no >> copies of said material following termination of the contract." >> >> So yes, it's technically feasible. >> >> >>> 2) If I design some amazing solutions... am I able to claim IP. >> >> If it's copyrightable (a "solution" may be), then as a contractor (not >> an employee) the copyright vests in you. If the contract states that >> you agree to transfer it to the customer then you breach the contract >> if you don't. >> >> If the contract says the copyrights are theirs then at least that part >> of the contract is probably void. Barring W2 employment copyrights >> nearly always vest in the individual who first put them in to a >> tangible form. There are explicit and narrow exceptions in the law. >> Preface of a book. That sort of thing. It's unlikely you'll run afoul >> of any of them. >> >> Lawyers get this wrong shockingly often. IP doesn't vest in the >> customer and can't be transferred until it exists. The creator is a W2 >> employee. The contractor agrees to transfer it following creation. >> Just about everything else is void. >> >> If the contract doesn't say one way or another then the lawyer who >> wrote it was asleep at the wheel. >> >> However... the techniques used to produce the solution usually >> classify as ideas. You may be bound under non-disclosure terms to not >> share ideas produced for the customer within the scope of the >> customer's system but ideas are never property. You can't own them and >> neither can the customer. >> >> Regards, >> Bill Herrin >> >> >> >> -- >> William Herrin ................ her...@dirtside.com b...@herrin.us >> Owner, Dirtside Systems ......... Web: <http://www.dirtside.com/>
