Legal Definitions - freedom-to-create statute

A freedom-to-create statute is a law that limits an employer's ability to automatically claim ownership of inventions developed by their employees. Specifically, it protects employees' rights to intellectual property they create independently, on their own time, using their own resources, and which is not directly related to their job duties or the employer's business.

These statutes are designed to encourage innovation by ensuring that employees retain rights to their personal creative work, preventing employers from broadly asserting ownership over all ideas an employee might generate, regardless of context.

Here are a few examples to illustrate how a freedom-to-create statute works:

• Example 1: The Weekend App Developer

  Imagine Sarah, a software engineer, works for a large corporation that develops complex financial trading platforms. In her spare time, on weekends and evenings at home, she independently creates a unique mobile application for tracking personal fitness goals. She uses her own computer and software, and the app has no connection to financial trading or her employer's business. Without a freedom-to-create statute, her employer might attempt to claim ownership of her fitness app simply because she is an employee. However, a freedom-to-create statute would protect Sarah, ensuring she retains full rights to her fitness app because it was developed outside her work responsibilities, on her own time, and is unrelated to her employer's core business.

• Example 2: The Hobbyist Inventor

  Consider Mark, an electrical engineer employed by a company that designs industrial automation systems. In his garage, as a personal hobby, Mark invents a new type of energy-efficient lighting fixture for residential use. He uses his own tools and materials, and the invention is completely separate from the industrial systems he works on professionally. A freedom-to-create statute would prevent Mark's employer from claiming ownership of his lighting fixture invention. This law ensures that Mark, not his employer, holds the patent rights to his personal invention, as it falls outside the scope of his employment and was developed independently.