After living and working in California for 6 years, I was considering a job as third engineer at a startup in another state. I was a bit anxious about side projects, and asked about them after receiving the offer. The response was basically what you said, a pleasant surprise, not scary like Joel warned. But for piece of mind, if I took the job, I would still want to find a lawyer in the new state to review the paperwork, which is a drag.
In the end I chose to remain in CA, and it's nice. It's nice to completely not ever have to worry about this issue at all. So I get why Joel is resentful after working for years in states where unreasonable invention assignment clauses are enforceable.
After living and working in California for 6 years, I was considering a job as third engineer at a startup in another state. I was a bit anxious about side projects, and asked about them after receiving the offer. The response was basically what you said, a pleasant surprise, not scary like Joel warned. But for piece of mind, if I took the job, I would still want to find a lawyer in the new state to review the paperwork, which is a drag.
In the end I chose to remain in CA, and it's nice. It's nice to completely not ever have to worry about this issue at all. So I get why Joel is resentful after working for years in states where unreasonable invention assignment clauses are enforceable.