Who "owns" a product if you came up with an idea while at a company, and then leave?

I was co-founder of a company, and came up with a product idea. Using company resources, I completely developed all aspects of the product - the name, form factor, content, etc. The patent is filed in my name, the trademark is in my name, and the domain name is registered to me. So if the company spent money but I did the work and everything%26#039;s in my name, who %26quot;owns%26quot; the ability to exploit the product? (There is no particular trade dress.) Thanks.

Who %26quot;owns%26quot; a product if you came up with an idea while at a company, and then leave?

Typically in your line of work a company will have you sign an intellectual property agreement when you start working there. If they didn%26#039;t, that%26#039;s good for you. However, the only way you%26#039;ll be clear is to hire an appropriate attorney to make sure you have clear rights to the developed article/item/property. It may even come down to joint ownership. Normally, the company owns whatever you develop while you work there, so it would be an uphill fight for you to make all this legally yours.

Who %26quot;owns%26quot; a product if you came up with an idea while at a company, and then leave?

You were paid in stock, not %26quot;unpaid for your tenure%26quot; If you are unhappy with your negotiation skills in retrospect, well.... Report It

Other Replys:As for who owns what, if there are truly no assignments, it maybe up to the courts to decide if you can%26#039;t negotiate to everyone%26#039;s satisfaction. But it could get very messy, esp. if you kept or created things in your name, while as an officer of the company you had a fiduciary duty to not do that. Report It

Other Replys:The company. I am basing my response on the fiduciary relationship in an agent-principal or simply agency relationship

Other Replys:As far as copyrights go, it would be a Work for Hire if you were compensated in some way while creating the product and can be refiled to reflect that. The rights would go to the company. Has anyone considered a residuals/royalties deal? Who do they have to tweak the product to maintain momentum?