Re: Non-Competition and Integrity

[Beth Agnew <bagnew -at- INSYSTEMS -dot- COM>]

Kathy Frost (KFrost -at- BTSquared -dot- Com) wrote:
>John Gough has a point about experience in one field getting you the next
> Recently, I worked on a project for a new type of pager.
> When I put out resumes near the end of
>the contract, I have one firm who, at first, rejected me because of my
>rate. ...Then, after reviewing my resume, the company was suddenly very
>interested.  I went to the interview and soon learned they were producing a
>similar product. They knew this from my resume but pretended to be
>surprised at the coincidence.   That made me suspicious.  I was very
>tactful but didn't give out any sensitive information during the interview.
>
>Later that day, I had the agency inform them that I had accepted another
>position.  The interviewer called me and offered me a full time position
>with their company (one that was not available just a few hours before),
>promising more money though I had never mentioned a figure.  When I
>refused, he still offered to "buy you a cup of coffee and pick your brain."
>(A good deal for him if I was willing to spill all for a cup of coffee.)
>Needless to say, I refused, then contacted the agency about the
>questionable tactics of the company they were doing business with and my
>former employer to tell them someone was trying to get proprietary info.  I
>realize the job offer was just an attempt to get information and I probably
>would have been released as soon as they got what they wanted.  They aren't
>stupid.  They know if you would betray another client to them, you would
>give their secrets to someone else.
>
>Be careful out there.  Whether you intend to or not, you could violate
>those non-compete or non-disclosure agreements very easily.  At best, you
>ruin your own reputation;  at worst, you could get into a lot of legal
>trouble.

Sorry for the long quote of Kathy's message but the background is important.
It is the crux of the matter. The scenario Kathy described is exactly why
companies require Non-Compete/Non-Disclosure agreements, which they think
will protect them from rapacious competitors. And exactly why we all have to
be so careful, whether or not we sign a piece of paper. It matters little
whether these agreements are enforceable. They are a fact of life. We all
know you can litigate anything. The success or failure of enforcing such an
agreement depends upon so many circumstances that whether to sign it or not
is the least of one's worries!

You have to really look at the situation you are getting into. When I was
contracting, I ran into agreements that were so broad in trying to reserve
"all creative effort" to the company, that one could even consider children
conceived during the term of employment at the company to be "proprietary
property"! But in many cases, if you don't sign the agreement, you don't get
the job. Are they going to come after your children? Hardly. Are they going
to sue you because you wrote a book based on stuff you learned at that
company that you couldn't have learned anywhere else? Very possibly. Would
they win? Who knows?

Congratulations to Kathy for acting responsibly in a tricky situation. She's
a good
example of what we'd like all technical writers to be. And if we *did* all
act so responsibly, maybe we wouldn't need these agreements. :-)

--Beth


Beth Agnew
Senior Technical Writer, InSystems Technologies Inc.
bagnew -at- insystems -dot- com            Tel: (905) 513-1400 ext. 280
                        Fax: (905) 513-1419
        Visit us at: http://www.insystems.com

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