Many, if not most, founders have difficulty being able to afford to work full-time for their startup right from the start. But working in a day job while moonlighting at your venture presents some particularly dicey legal issues that can cause issues down the line.
In particular, moonlighting for your startup presents a significant threat to your startup’s intellectual property, especially if you’re currently working at a technology company. Many employers, especially technology companies and other IP-intensive businesses, require all employees to sign invention assignment agreements, which are often very broad and give your employer rights to any IP you create that relates to the business of your employer or any reasonably anticipated business of your employer. This is the case even if the IP was created on your own time and without the use of your employer’s facilities. [Read more…]