Should I pitch my innovative product to my employer - or keep it for myself? NICOLA HORLICK replies
Working life today is full of constantly evolving challenges and pitfalls. When is it OK to date a co-worker?
Can you tell your team to get back into the office five days a week? Whether you're a baffled Boomer, a muddled millennial, or a confused Gen Z-er, our brilliant columnist Nicola Horlick can help.
Dear Nicola,
I have devised a product, working mostly in my own time, which is the kind of thing my firm sells. I suspect it could do rather well. Friends have tried it and rave about the results.
Am I obliged to give my employer first refusal on this?
I have created it using my savings, but with skills acquired at work. If I do go it alone, can I offer it to my employer further down the road?
Also, if I do take that step, where should I start to find support and funding?
Yours, Paul
Dear Paul,
You haven't given any information about what the product is, so it is hard to give a complete answer.
For example, if it is a better version of a computer game sold by your employer, there will be issues around intellectual property (IP).
Even if it is a manufactured item based on something your employer sells, there could be IP issues or patent infringement, if the firm owns patents for similar products.
Also if you've developed it partly in working hours, your employer may have some rights over it.
It's great your friends tried the product and liked it. This suggests you will earn a great deal of kudos and possibly some financial benefit if you go with it to your employer.
If you did set up your own business, you would need capital, and this can be very hard to acquire for start-ups. You may have further savings and your extended family might help, but any new venture carries a lot of risk.
Even though the product sounds as if it has real promise, you and your fellow investors could lose all your money.
I suggest that you talk to your employer to see if the product could be added to its range.
I once had a colleague who developed a computer system widely used in our organisation. When I joined the firm, no one had considered that he owned the IP and that, if he had left the company, he could have turned the system off.
As manager of the business, I tried to negotiate to buy the product. Strangely, he refused to sell, so I had to engage an external firm to build something similar so we weren't at risk. This illustrates the issues when creative employees come up with innovations.
If you are still keen to set up a business, it is vital to take legal advice on the position of your employer, its IP and any patents first. The last thing you need as an entrepreneur is to find yourself embroiled in a costly court case.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
7 minutes ago
- Times
Has remote working opened a global talent pool for businesses?
As competition for skilled staff intensifies, firms can take advantage of a 24/7 workforce across time zones Caption here pls.... Major events in recent years have resulted in more professionals working in a flexible mix of home and office settings, even across borders – but forward-thinking employers have enjoyed the benefits of hybrid setups for much longer. Now, more businesses are beginning to recognise the considerable potential upsides of taking a similar approach, with a borderless workforce. In fields like tech, fintech and creative industries such as gaming – where competition for talent is especially fierce – being able to search in a far larger talent pool from all over the world can make a significant difference when it comes to successful recruitment. Offering the ideal candidate the flexibility to work where they choose also makes them far more likely to say yes. For companies weighing economic pressures and geopolitical uncertainty, a remote workforce can offer a compelling solution to persistent hiring headaches – but there are wider benefits too. With technology powering a round-the-clock business culture, organisations that are able to keep projects moving by handing them off across time zones gain a serious edge over competitors. Productivity doesn't stop at close of play. This is before the additional practical incentives are considered – reduced office costs, regionally adjusted remuneration rates and the ability to have local teams engaging directly with international clients. Secondary factors also come into play. For companies focused on ESG, operating in a more sustainable way through distributed teams can become a meaningful part of their environmental and social impact profile. Of course, managing teams across multiple world regions brings challenges of its own. From embedding a brand's ethos and rolling out consistent working practices, to ensuring full compliance with local tax and employment law, complexity can multiply quickly. One of the fastest-growing HR tech companies in the world, Deel has the expertise to help organisations make this kind of transformation a reality. Deel's intuitive platform cross-references legal frameworks across more than 100 countries, giving businesses everything they need to hire internationally at speed and scale – without the need to set up full operations in each region or wade through regulatory red tape. Instead of hiring local professional employer organisations in every new market, Deel offers businesses a single, legally compliant, tech-led solution. Its Global Payroll platform, for instance, consolidates payroll across multiple countries into one streamlined system – easy to update, monitor and use for data reporting. Valued at $12 billion [£9.4 billion] in its most recent funding round, Deel supports over 35,000 businesses in more than 150 countries. With this extensive global reach, Deel has become a leading voice in international employment trends. Its 2024 report, The State of Global Hiring , offers valuable insights into how and where companies are building cross-border teams. Deel works with startups, scale-ups and larger enterprises alike, providing a single platform to manage everything from onboarding to offboarding – including contracts, tax documentation and global payroll – with efficiency and full compliance. Acting as both legal shield and operational backbone, Deel enables UK companies to build global teams without the friction of international hiring. It's a way to sidestep domestic talent shortages and fill key skill gaps – bringing the future of work within reach today. This a commercial article paid for by our advertising partners Visit to request a free demonstration and see how your business could be transformed
The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
Three-quarters of parents have bought children beauty products in the last year
Three-quarters of parents have bought their children beauty products in the last year, a survey suggests. Parents have spent £111 on average on items such as lip balms (41%), face moisturisers (39%), and cleansers (37%), according to the poll for cashback and rewards site Rakuten. Other popular items bought for children aged eight to 17 included lip gloss or lipstick (32%), body moisturiser (30%), face masks (28%), skin oil (22%), mascara (22%), makeup remover (21%) and foundation (19%). A typical adult spends £148 on beauty products a year, the study found. Of the 75% of parents who bought beauty products, 41% said they did so to boost their child's confidence, while 24% saw it as a way to bond with their children. Fathers were more willing to spend on their children's beauty regimes, buying £144 worth of items per year compared with the average £82 paid for by mothers. Bola Sol, from Rakuten, said: 'With skincare and make-up routines and trends taking over social media, it's no surprise that younger children are asking for more luxurious beauty products. 'All parents want to make their kids happy, but it's also important to balance that with your budget. A great way to do this is by tracking products for when they go on sale, and where possible, bag even more savings by using a cashback provider such as Rakuten to make the purchase through.' OnePoll surveyed 1,000 UK parents with children aged eight to 17 between May 28 and June 15.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
The World Tonight Will voters feel better off from Chancellor's spending plans?
What would you do with a trillion pounds of public money over the next four years? The Chancellor says "renewing Britain" is at the heart of her plans. So when will voters start to feel better off? We ask a Treasury Minister. Also on the programme: After the US Ambassador to Israel told us that Muslim countries should give up their land to create a Palestinian state - we get reaction from a senior Palestinian official. And one of the most influential figures in the history of pop music, Brian Wilson - the creative genius behind the Beach Boys - has died. The veteran DJ Bob Harris - who knew him for more than five decades - pays tribute.
