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Questions tagged [non-compete]

Questions about non-compete agreements in employment contracts.

From Wikipedia: "A non-compete clause is a clause under which one party (usually an employee) agrees not to enter into or start a similar profession or trade in competition against another party (usually the employer)."

64 questions
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Prove my work is not a trade secret violation

I have recently developed a medical software application. One of my previous employers X (from 4 years ago) sells a similar application. (You can see where this is going.) X is now alleging that I might have stolen the code and created my own…
user559788
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Quitting before the start date: is the non compete enforceable?

Prospective employee E signed a job offer stating that his or her first day of work will be two months into 2022. The contract includes a non-compete agreement (NCA) of a duration of 8 months within 100 km of the employer's headquarters…
Iblis
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How can a company compel a W2 employee to sign a non-compete agreement?

Assume the company is in Delaware and been taken over by a larger corporation: If one already has the job, is it possible to for the larger corporation to compel existing employees to sign non-compete agreements? Assume subject is in DE and is a…
gatorback
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Will my employers contract hold up in court?

When I started a new job back in July of 2017, I signed a contract that had the following bindings or restrictions if I was ever to leave the company: Cannot work for a competitor within 25 miles of current companies location for the next two…
Alex S.
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OpenAI employees' move to Microsoft: Non-compete regulations?

A few days ago, Sam Altman was fired from his position as OpenAI's CEO in a surprise move. Altman has, as of now, accepted an offer by Microsoft to join the company as head of an AI lab. Microsoft has extended its offer to all OpenAI employees, and…
Peter - Reinstate Monica
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California non-compete laws: where do they come from?

I once read that California non-compete laws come from the gold rush era, and yet I was not able to find any more information about the subject. It would be interesting to understand what historical circumstances led California to have these…
Gabriel
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What can I do if I signed an excessively restrictive contract?

Situation I was offered a "small work opportunity" to provide consulting for a company operated by someone I met locally. They told me to sign some agreements, which I did. The problem is that the agreements seem to be very restrictive. The #1…
Novaly
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How strictly is "competition" interpreted in a NDA?

My previous company specialized in affiliate marketing and produced a comparison website for a certain market (let's say cars). I left the company 4 months ago and would like to setup my own affiliate comparison site in a related but different…
danyo
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What qualifies as a Non-Compete Clause

So I'm 17 and for the past few months I've been working on a programming project. My intent is to use the code for profit in the future, and because of that I've been reluctant to recruit others to work on the project. Before vacation my…
thebest108
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Risks of signing a Non-Compete Clause

I was recently offered my first position as a junior web developer and was simultaneously notified that I would need to sign an NCC. After some research, I'm starting to feel skeptical about the position (plus it was through Craigslist) and some…
SuperVeetz
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Can code logic be copyrighted?

Scenario: I work at company A and write some code for them which is something trivial but used in a product that is proprietary and hence the code is company property. Then I leave the company A and join company B. Company B needs something that can…
Allahjane
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Can my LLC limit my liability of a personally-signed non-compete agreement?

I am employed via W-2 and bound to a non-compete agreement stating that I cannot be paid for work outside of said W-2 employment. Is it a breach of contract to perform work on behalf of an LLC which I own 100%, where payment is received by the LLC…
Lancelot Du Lac
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Non-compete clause with a bus factor of 1

The small UK family-run business that I've worked for during the past 18 years offers services in topics A, B, C and D. Other staff (and myself) can do all of the services A, B & C but only I can do service "D" which is my speciality. 3 customers…
Smithy42
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Effect of non-compete of ex-employee clause after legal merge in Netherlands

If an employee of company A in the Netherlands with a non-compete clause quits before transfer of undertaking for the legal merge with company B(overgang van onderneming), would the non-compete clause still be in effect? Here's the timeline of…
user46504
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Ideas discussed are general, do they still fall under a signed NDA/NC?

A lets B sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement/Non-Compete ("NDA/NC") and then shares its ideas. How "broad"/"general" can these ideas be to not be considered confidential? E.g. the idea that A tells B is this: "Making an app similar to x but with a…
ChaosCoder
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