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Tell HN: Beware confidentiality agreements that act as lifetime non competes

416 points throwarayes | 2 comments | 21 Jun 25 16:02 UTC | HN request time: 0.405s | source

Just a note of warning from personal experience.

Companies don’t really need non-competes anymore. Some companies take an extremely broad interpretation of IP confidentiality, where they consider doing any work in the industry during your lifetime an inevitable confidentiality violation. They argue it would be impossible for you to work elsewhere in this industry during your entire career without violating confidentiality with the technical and business instincts you bring to that domain. It doesn’t require conscious violation on your part (they argue).

So beware and read your employment agreement carefully.

More here https://www.promarket.org/2024/02/08/confidentiality-agreeme...

And this is the insane legal doctrine behind this

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inevitable_disclosure

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OutOfHere ◴[21 Jun 25 18:15 UTC] No.44339555[source]▶
What exactly should one be on the lookout for? Practically every company has an IP confidentiality agreement.
replies(2): >>44339610 #>>44339845 #
Traubenfuchs ◴[21 Jun 25 18:23 UTC] No.44339610[source]▶
Yeah, good luck being the odd one out who wants special individualized contract. This might work for unicorn value level employees that are poached from one FANG to another but not for the average Joe.
replies(4): >>44339692 #>>44340519 #>>44340809 #>>44340829 #
kragen ◴[21 Jun 25 21:23 UTC] No.44340829[source]▶
As an average Joe, I was able to negotiate employment contract changes every place I worked in the tech industry in California in the early 02000s. I don't remember having been faced with contract clauses that I felt needed alteration as an entry-level tech employee in the 01990s.
replies(1): >>44340945 #
lovich ◴[21 Jun 25 21:43 UTC] No.44340945[source]▶
If you are negotiating terms you are not an average Joe. Average Joe’s don’t even interact with people capable of requesting someone higher up to approve the change. Average Joe’s get given a take it or leave it deal
replies(2): >>44341070 #>>44341375 #
kragen ◴[21 Jun 25 22:07 UTC] No.44341070[source]▶
You evidently have no idea what you're talking about.
replies(1): >>44342441 #
lovich ◴[22 Jun 25 01:41 UTC] No.44342441[source]▶
Then please provide me sources. What non single digit percentage of the workforce regularly has the ability to negotiate clauses in work agreements?
replies(1): >>44342849 #
1. kragen ◴[22 Jun 25 02:33 UTC] No.44342849[source]▶
Like, every single white collar worker?
replies(1): >>44343760 #
2. lovich ◴[22 Jun 25 04:51 UTC] No.44343760[source]▶
White collar workers are the average Joe? And the average white collar worker negotiates terms of their employment?

It’s anecdata on my part but whenever a white collar worker tells me they don’t need a union because they can negotiate a better deal, they get real angry at me when I ask them the last time they negotiated a better deal for themselves