|
Dear Annie: I read your column on whether (or when) non-compete agreements are negotiable, but I have a much weirder question. I just got a great job offer from a company where I've always wanted to work, but one thing is giving me pause. The HR people haven't asked me to sign a non-compete, exactly, but they do want me to sign something they're calling an "assignment agreement, " which basically says the company owns the rights to all my ideas or inventions, both now and in the future. 亲爱的安妮：我读过您的一篇专栏文章，里面提到竞业禁止协议是否（或者在什么时候）可以协商，不过我有一个更加古怪的问题。我在一家公司找到了一份不错的工作，我对这家公司期待已久，但有一件事让我有所犹豫。这家公司的人力资源部并没有要求我签署竞业禁止协议，而是让我签一份他们叫做“转让协议”的东西，大意是说公司拥有我的创意或发明的所有权利，不论是现在的、还是未来的创意。 This makes me nervous because, for the past five or six years, I've been developing something in my spare time that I think has great commercial potential, and I'm getting close to applying for a patent. Does this agreement mean my employer owns my invention, even though it has nothing to do with my job? That just seems bizarre. Or am I reading this wrong? -- Lost in Los Gatos 这一点让我有些不安，因为过去五六年里，我一直在业余时间进行某方面的开发，我认为它具有巨大的商业潜力，而且我即将申请专利。这份协议是否意味着，尽管我的发明跟我的工作没有任何关系，但我的雇主还是会拥有我的发明？看起来太奇怪了。还是说，我的解读有误？——L.L.G. | 
