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Lobel, Orly --- "Intellectual Property and Restrictive Covenants" [2009] ELECD 420; in Dau-Schmidt, G. Kenneth; Harris, D. Seth; Lobel, Orly (eds), "Labor and Employment Law and Economics" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009)

Book Title: Labor and Employment Law and Economics

Editor(s): Dau-Schmidt, G. Kenneth; Harris, D. Seth; Lobel, Orly

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781847207296

Section: Chapter 18

Section Title: Intellectual Property and Restrictive Covenants

Author(s): Lobel, Orly

Number of pages: 22

Extract:

18 Intellectual property and restrictive
covenants
Orly Lobel


1 Introduction
Every day, corporations and individuals innovate, invent and compete
for success. The decisions we make about innovation are influenced by
the benefits, risks and environment in which we interact. This chapter
connects the fields of employment relations and intellectual property
(IP) by exploring structures of ownership in ideas, skills and the trans-
mission of knowledge in contemporary markets. The chapter examines
contractual and regulatory constraints on the use of knowledge, skill
and information acquired during the employment relationship. Three
interrelated areas of employment regulation are discussed: (1) covenants
not-to-compete; (2) trade secrets and non-disclosure agreements; and (3)
employee inventions, including pre-invention patent assignment agree-
ments. Drawing on both theoretical literature and empirical analyses of
different parts of the labor market, the chapter considers the effects of
employment-based intellectual property (EIP) law on market innovation
and mobility.
Today's economy is driven by high velocity labor markets while at
the same time relying on highly skilled employees to demonstrate strong
commitment to research and development in their firms. While there has
been significant attention to the general role of IP law, the role of employ-
ment law and contracts in the context of IP and human capital mobility
is a relatively new and understudied field. Recent empirical analysis can
help assess the differences in regulatory and contractual employment
arrangements in the field of intellectual property and explain how these
differences may impact the rates of network ...