Where do you draw the line when reusing database design elements between clients?
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I used to work at company X which made widgets, and developed a database system for them to sell their widgets. I left a couple of years ago, and am thinking about doing a project for company Y, which make a completely different kind of Widget, totally non-competitive with company X. In neither case is/was the software a fundamental part of their business - they sell widgets. So, the question is, given that there IS overlap in the way they think about certain things to do with customers, do I need to be concerned about 'reusing' concepts I developed for X in company Y's new system? I mean, every company has a 'Users' table and an 'Organization' table, and I'm pretty sure I can reuse those kinds of elements, for example, but what about other more specific data structures? If the analysis yields the same 'answers' in terms of entities, is there a potential issue? So does anyone have any guidelines they stick to in these kinds of situations? Technically it looks like it MIGHT be the case that once you've worked in Industry A, you can't ever work for a different company in Industry A without worrying about this kind of thing, but that CAN'T be right. Can it? This isn't intended to be a legal question, so please don't say 'consult a lawyer' :) Thanks for any thoughts...
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I used to work at company X which made widgets, and developed a database system for them to sell their widgets. I left a couple of years ago, and am thinking about doing a project for company Y, which make a completely different kind of Widget, totally non-competitive with company X. In neither case is/was the software a fundamental part of their business - they sell widgets. So, the question is, given that there IS overlap in the way they think about certain things to do with customers, do I need to be concerned about 'reusing' concepts I developed for X in company Y's new system? I mean, every company has a 'Users' table and an 'Organization' table, and I'm pretty sure I can reuse those kinds of elements, for example, but what about other more specific data structures? If the analysis yields the same 'answers' in terms of entities, is there a potential issue? So does anyone have any guidelines they stick to in these kinds of situations? Technically it looks like it MIGHT be the case that once you've worked in Industry A, you can't ever work for a different company in Industry A without worrying about this kind of thing, but that CAN'T be right. Can it? This isn't intended to be a legal question, so please don't say 'consult a lawyer' :) Thanks for any thoughts...
Max Stayner wrote:
If the analysis yields the same 'answers' in terms of entities, is there a potential issue?
No there isn't, using concepts and methods developed at previous jobs is what consultants do all the time, another word for it is experience. Keep in mind business is business and there are always going to be processes at different companies that are the same and will end up with the same or very similar solution.
People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs
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I used to work at company X which made widgets, and developed a database system for them to sell their widgets. I left a couple of years ago, and am thinking about doing a project for company Y, which make a completely different kind of Widget, totally non-competitive with company X. In neither case is/was the software a fundamental part of their business - they sell widgets. So, the question is, given that there IS overlap in the way they think about certain things to do with customers, do I need to be concerned about 'reusing' concepts I developed for X in company Y's new system? I mean, every company has a 'Users' table and an 'Organization' table, and I'm pretty sure I can reuse those kinds of elements, for example, but what about other more specific data structures? If the analysis yields the same 'answers' in terms of entities, is there a potential issue? So does anyone have any guidelines they stick to in these kinds of situations? Technically it looks like it MIGHT be the case that once you've worked in Industry A, you can't ever work for a different company in Industry A without worrying about this kind of thing, but that CAN'T be right. Can it? This isn't intended to be a legal question, so please don't say 'consult a lawyer' :) Thanks for any thoughts...
Unless A has a patent/copyright on the concept, I don't think it will be construed as a violation. Ofcourse, this may not apply if you are going to model the whole architecture similar to what was in A and if A decides to reverse engineer and sue you for stealing intellectual content. I think the best place to look for clarification is your contract. If it ain't in the contract, you ain't got anything to worry about.
SG Aham Brahmasmi!
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I used to work at company X which made widgets, and developed a database system for them to sell their widgets. I left a couple of years ago, and am thinking about doing a project for company Y, which make a completely different kind of Widget, totally non-competitive with company X. In neither case is/was the software a fundamental part of their business - they sell widgets. So, the question is, given that there IS overlap in the way they think about certain things to do with customers, do I need to be concerned about 'reusing' concepts I developed for X in company Y's new system? I mean, every company has a 'Users' table and an 'Organization' table, and I'm pretty sure I can reuse those kinds of elements, for example, but what about other more specific data structures? If the analysis yields the same 'answers' in terms of entities, is there a potential issue? So does anyone have any guidelines they stick to in these kinds of situations? Technically it looks like it MIGHT be the case that once you've worked in Industry A, you can't ever work for a different company in Industry A without worrying about this kind of thing, but that CAN'T be right. Can it? This isn't intended to be a legal question, so please don't say 'consult a lawyer' :) Thanks for any thoughts...
Did you use a bubble sort at any time for the first customer? If so, you can never use one again. You can't copyright ideas, only implementations -- but that doesn't mean that you own the word "if" if it's in your implementation. Database and front end requirements for people who sell things will obviously be fundamentally similar, so make them fundamentally similar.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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I used to work at company X which made widgets, and developed a database system for them to sell their widgets. I left a couple of years ago, and am thinking about doing a project for company Y, which make a completely different kind of Widget, totally non-competitive with company X. In neither case is/was the software a fundamental part of their business - they sell widgets. So, the question is, given that there IS overlap in the way they think about certain things to do with customers, do I need to be concerned about 'reusing' concepts I developed for X in company Y's new system? I mean, every company has a 'Users' table and an 'Organization' table, and I'm pretty sure I can reuse those kinds of elements, for example, but what about other more specific data structures? If the analysis yields the same 'answers' in terms of entities, is there a potential issue? So does anyone have any guidelines they stick to in these kinds of situations? Technically it looks like it MIGHT be the case that once you've worked in Industry A, you can't ever work for a different company in Industry A without worrying about this kind of thing, but that CAN'T be right. Can it? This isn't intended to be a legal question, so please don't say 'consult a lawyer' :) Thanks for any thoughts...
If it feels good, do it.
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I used to work at company X which made widgets, and developed a database system for them to sell their widgets. I left a couple of years ago, and am thinking about doing a project for company Y, which make a completely different kind of Widget, totally non-competitive with company X. In neither case is/was the software a fundamental part of their business - they sell widgets. So, the question is, given that there IS overlap in the way they think about certain things to do with customers, do I need to be concerned about 'reusing' concepts I developed for X in company Y's new system? I mean, every company has a 'Users' table and an 'Organization' table, and I'm pretty sure I can reuse those kinds of elements, for example, but what about other more specific data structures? If the analysis yields the same 'answers' in terms of entities, is there a potential issue? So does anyone have any guidelines they stick to in these kinds of situations? Technically it looks like it MIGHT be the case that once you've worked in Industry A, you can't ever work for a different company in Industry A without worrying about this kind of thing, but that CAN'T be right. Can it? This isn't intended to be a legal question, so please don't say 'consult a lawyer' :) Thanks for any thoughts...
I've never heard of a dev that didn't re-use what they've learnt or built on previously otherwise you'd have to completely re-invent the wheel every time you got a new contract!
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me
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I used to work at company X which made widgets, and developed a database system for them to sell their widgets. I left a couple of years ago, and am thinking about doing a project for company Y, which make a completely different kind of Widget, totally non-competitive with company X. In neither case is/was the software a fundamental part of their business - they sell widgets. So, the question is, given that there IS overlap in the way they think about certain things to do with customers, do I need to be concerned about 'reusing' concepts I developed for X in company Y's new system? I mean, every company has a 'Users' table and an 'Organization' table, and I'm pretty sure I can reuse those kinds of elements, for example, but what about other more specific data structures? If the analysis yields the same 'answers' in terms of entities, is there a potential issue? So does anyone have any guidelines they stick to in these kinds of situations? Technically it looks like it MIGHT be the case that once you've worked in Industry A, you can't ever work for a different company in Industry A without worrying about this kind of thing, but that CAN'T be right. Can it? This isn't intended to be a legal question, so please don't say 'consult a lawyer' :) Thanks for any thoughts...
There are only so many ways to skin a cat. As they are non-competitive, it is unlikely there would be any reason for a conflict of interest.
------------------------------------ I will never again mention that I was the poster of the One Millionth Lounge Post, nor that it was complete drivel. Dalek Dave CCC Link[^] Trolls[^]
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I used to work at company X which made widgets, and developed a database system for them to sell their widgets. I left a couple of years ago, and am thinking about doing a project for company Y, which make a completely different kind of Widget, totally non-competitive with company X. In neither case is/was the software a fundamental part of their business - they sell widgets. So, the question is, given that there IS overlap in the way they think about certain things to do with customers, do I need to be concerned about 'reusing' concepts I developed for X in company Y's new system? I mean, every company has a 'Users' table and an 'Organization' table, and I'm pretty sure I can reuse those kinds of elements, for example, but what about other more specific data structures? If the analysis yields the same 'answers' in terms of entities, is there a potential issue? So does anyone have any guidelines they stick to in these kinds of situations? Technically it looks like it MIGHT be the case that once you've worked in Industry A, you can't ever work for a different company in Industry A without worrying about this kind of thing, but that CAN'T be right. Can it? This isn't intended to be a legal question, so please don't say 'consult a lawyer' :) Thanks for any thoughts...
Other's have stated correctly that you are free to re-use concepts no matter what, but I'll take it a step further. If you were a W2 employee, copyright defaults to the employer. If you're an independent contractor it copyright defaults to you, unless you explicitly give it away in your contract. In other words you could use all of the code you developed for Customer A in a project for Customer B unless your contract says otherwise. [Edit] I'm not a lawyer, but I did need to get a lawyer involved at one point when a "customer" (what you call a customer that is refusing to pay you) was demanding I hand over the source code about 9 months after the project had been successfully completed to their satisfaction, but before they had paid for it (they had paid for about 25% of it, and were ~9 months overdue with the other 75% of payment).
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Unless A has a patent/copyright on the concept, I don't think it will be construed as a violation. Ofcourse, this may not apply if you are going to model the whole architecture similar to what was in A and if A decides to reverse engineer and sue you for stealing intellectual content. I think the best place to look for clarification is your contract. If it ain't in the contract, you ain't got anything to worry about.
SG Aham Brahmasmi!
Unfortunately, if you look at most contracts these days (at least the ones that I've seen), I think you'll see that they state that all inventions created as part of the job are assigned to the 'employer', not the contractor. I rather suspect (hope) that the principle is, if there's no financial damage, there's no problem.