The Right to Build
A model safe harbor for independent work.
This is starting language for advocates, workers, and employers. It is not legal advice, and it should be reviewed by counsel before use in a bill, policy, or contract.
Core right
Right to personal building and publication
An individual shall retain ownership of any software, application, tool, creative work, invention, design, business, open-source contribution, or technical service created independently, outside assigned working time, without use of the employer's confidential information, trade secrets, private customer data, protected intellectual property, or employer-provided systems, equipment, or facilities.
Nothing in this policy limits an employer's rights in assigned work, works made within the scope of employment, trade secrets, confidential information, customer data, or work created using employer resources.
Conflict review
Narrow the veto.
An employer may not require assignment, transfer, waiver, license, disclosure, approval, or non-publication of protected independent work unless the employer identifies a specific conflict tied to assigned duties, protected confidential information, trade secrets, or an actual product, service, or research project of the employer.
A broad reference to the employer's industry, market, anticipated business, or general area of interest should not be sufficient by itself to establish ownership or prohibit publication.
Open source
Public contribution should have a safe path.
Workers should be able to contribute to open-source projects on personal time when they are not disclosing employer confidential information, contributing employer-owned code, or representing that they speak for the employer.
Notice and retaliation
Tell workers what is theirs.
Employers should provide a plain-language notice explaining what the company claims, what it does not claim, how conflicts are reviewed, and how employees can appeal. Employers should not retaliate against workers for creating, publishing, selling, supporting, licensing, or publicly identifying with protected independent work.
Copy text