Intellectual Property & Inventions Assignment

This policy explains who owns the work we create at TechAbout — code, designs, content, brands, and inventions — and how we handle intellectual property (IP) belonging to us, our clients, and third parties. It applies to every employee and contractor, and clients and candidates are welcome to read it too.

Purpose

TechAbout is a software and services company. Our value lives almost entirely in intellectual property: the products we build, the sites and campaigns we deliver, the brands we manage, and the code and designs behind them. This policy makes ownership clear, protects the company and its people legally, and keeps us honest with clients and with the wider open-source and creative community we build on.

Scope / Who This Applies To

• All employees, interns, and contractors, from day one of engagement.
• Every kind of work product: source code, designs, written content, SEO and link assets, brand and graphic work, documentation, and inventions or improvements.
• Work done on company time, on company equipment, or using company confidential information — regardless of where you physically are.

The Policy — Who Owns What

The diagram below maps ownership at a glance. Read the detail under each heading before you assume anything.

What you create	Who owns it	Notes
Client deliverables	The client (on payment)	Per the client contract / SOW
Internal products & tools	TechAbout	Work made for the company
Code written on company time	TechAbout	Assigned under your employment agreement
Open-source contributions	Per project licence	Get written approval first
Genuine personal side projects	You	On your own time, own devices, no company IP
IP you brought with you	You (pre-existing)	Declare it in writing on joining

Assignment of work product

• Work you create for TechAbout, on company time or using company resources or confidential information, is assigned to TechAbout. By accepting employment you agree to assign such IP to the company and to sign any documents reasonably needed to record that (for example, copyright or patent filings).
• Client deliverables are governed by the specific client contract. As a rule, rights in a bespoke deliverable transfer to the client on full payment. Until then, TechAbout retains them. Any reusable tools, libraries, or know-how we bring to the job stay ours and are licensed to the client, not sold.
• Company products and internal work — our own web products, internet brands, and the portfolio of domains and digital assets — belong to TechAbout.

Third-party and open-source licences

• Use third-party code, fonts, images, plugins, and content only when the licence clearly permits our use. Keep proof of the licence or purchase.
• Respect open-source licences (MIT, Apache-2.0, GPL, and others). Copyleft licences such as GPL can impose obligations on what we ship to clients — ask before pulling one into client or product code.
• Contributing to open source using company time or code needs prior approval, so we release under the correct licence and don't give away something we shouldn't.
• Never copy a competitor's code, a stock asset you haven't licensed, or AI-generated output whose terms you haven't checked.

Trademarks and brand assets

• TechAbout's names, logos, domains, and brand assets — and those of the internet brands we operate — are company trademarks. Use them only as approved, and never register a confusingly similar name or domain for yourself.
• Treat client trademarks with the same care. Follow the client's brand guidelines and don't use their marks beyond the scope of the engagement.

Personal side projects and pre-existing IP

• A genuine personal side project — built on your own time, your own equipment, without company confidential information, and not competing with TechAbout — remains yours. When in doubt, disclose it (see Conflict of Interest & Outside Work).
• Pre-existing IP you bring — inventions, code, or works you created before joining — stays yours, provided you declare it in writing when you join. Anything you don't declare may be presumed to fall under company assignment, so list it.

What To Do / How To Report

1. Ask before you build when ownership is unclear. A two-minute question to ethics@techabout.com is cheaper than an ownership dispute later.
2. On joining, submit your prior-inventions disclosure. If you have nothing to declare, say so.
3. Before adopting any new open-source or third-party licence in client or product work, get sign-off.
4. If you suspect an infringement — ours against someone, or someone against us — report it promptly to ethics@techabout.com.

Consequences

Misusing IP — shipping unlicensed assets, ignoring open-source terms, taking company or client IP for personal use, or failing to disclose prior inventions or side projects — can expose TechAbout and you to real legal and financial risk. Breaches may lead to disciplinary action up to termination and, in serious cases, legal claims. You retain the right to appeal under the Disciplinary Appeal Process.

If you're unsure who owns it, don't ship it — ask first.

This policy is general information, not legal advice; specifics of ownership, assignment, and licensing are subject to the relevant contract and to review by qualified local counsel and current law.

Questions? Contact ethics@techabout.com.