Signing away my intellectual property rights? Location: MI
employment attorney Michigan Jul 31, 2026
Location: Michigan The company I work has asked me to sign the following contract, and I don't feel comfortable with it. For context, I work in an accounting department at a medium sized construction company. We are leaning into AI and I am being asked to try to create/manage some tools that the company will use. I don't have issue with much, but as laymen, it feels very broad and overreaching, especially the part in section 1 "This assignment applies regardless of the device, location, software, account, AI tool, repository, or platform used to create the Work Product, including personal hardware, personal cloud accounts, personal code repositories, or personal AI accounts, to the extent permitted by law." Not exactly sure what I am looking for here, but I don't feel comfortable signing. I have raised concerns with my boss, and she said she has similar concerns as she was being asked to sign as well. I guess my question is am I overreacting or is this standard? For context, I build some basic internal tools in excel/powerBI, but going forward they want these to be built with AI tools. I am not in a executive or even management role. Below is the contract I am being asked to sign: EMPLOYEE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION, COMPANY DATA, AND WORK PRODUCT ASSIGNMENT AGREEMENT Employee Name: ______________________________________ Effective Date: ______________________ In consideration of my employment or continued employment with (company) and the compensation paid to me, I agree to the following. This Agreement supplements, and does not replace, the (company) Employee Handbook. Assignment of Work Product. I hereby irrevocably assign to (company) my entire right, title, and interest in all Work Product. “Work Product” means all inventions, discoveries, software, source code, scripts, applications, workflows, automations, prompts, prompt libraries, agents, configurations, integrations, databases, data models, documentation, designs, reports, content, processes, improvements, and other works of authorship or intellectual property that I create, conceive, develop, modify, or contribute to, alone or with others, if the Work Product: (a) is created within the scope of my employment; (b) is created using Company time, equipment, systems, accounts, funds, data, confidential information, or other Company resources; (c) is created at the Company’s request or direction; (d) is intended for Company use; or (e) relates to any project, initiative, product, service, process, customer, vendor, system, or business function that I am assigned to or reasonably expected to support. This assignment applies regardless of the device, location, software, account, AI tool, repository, or platform used to create the Work Product, including personal hardware, personal cloud accounts, personal code repositories, or personal AI accounts, to the extent permitted by law. AI-Assisted Work and Company Data. Work Product created, modified, or assisted by artificial-intelligence tools, code assistants, agents, or automation platforms, including Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, and similar tools, is Work Product owned by (company) under this Agreement. I will use only Company-approved AI tools, accounts, repositories, extensions, plugins, and automation platforms for Company work. I will not submit, upload, paste, transmit, or expose Company Data or Company confidential information to any non-approved tool, account, model, service, repository, or platform. “Company Data” means all non-public information, records, documents, files, datasets, customer information, vendor information, pricing information, estimating information, sales information, financial information, operational information, credentials, workflows, reports, communications, and other business information owned, controlled, maintained, or used by (company). Existing Work Product. Sections 1 and 2 also apply to Work Product created before signing this Agreement if the Work Product was created for (company), relates to (company) business, uses or contains Company Data, was created using Company resources, or is intended for Company use. I will promptly disclose such Work Product to (company) and, upon request, transfer or copy it into Company-controlled accounts, repositories, systems, or storage locations. I am not required to transfer personal account passwords or unrelated personal materials. However, I must provide (company) with access to, copies of, and control over all Company Work Product and Company Data in my possession or control, and I must remove Company Data and Company confidential information from personal or non-approved accounts when instructed by (company). Third-Party Materials. I will not include in any Work Product any third-party code, open-source software, proprietary software, data, confidential information, prior-employer materials, restricted-license materials, or other content that (company) does not have the right to use, copy, modify, distribute, or own, unless (company) has approved such use in advance. I will promptly disclose to (company) any third-party or open- source materials included in or required by any Work Product. Works Made for Hire. To the extent any Work Product qualifies as a “work made for hire” under the U.S. Copyright Act, it is owned by (company). To the extent it does not, it is assigned to (company) under Section 1. Prior Inventions and Excluded Materials. Anything I created before my employment or before this Agreement that is unrelated to (company) business and that I wish to exclude from this Agreement is listed below. If none, I will write “NONE.” Excluded materials: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Confidentiality. I will hold the Company’s confidential and proprietary information in confidence and use it only for Company purposes, consistent with the non-disclosure policy in the Employee Handbook, during and after my employment. Further Assurances. I will sign documents and take actions the Company reasonably requests to perfect, register, evidence, or enforce its rights in the Work Product, at the Company’s expense, during and after my employment. Return or Transfer of Materials. On termination or on request, I will return, transfer, or copy to (company) all Work Product, Company Data, confidential information, Company systems access, accounts created for Company work, credentials created for Company work, and Company property in my possession or control. I will not retain Company Data or confidential information in personal or non-approved accounts, devices, repositories, systems, or storage locations. At-Will Employment; Governing Law; Severability. This Agreement does not change the at-will nature of my employment. It is governed by the laws of the State of Michigan. If any provision is unenforceable, the remainder stays in effect to the fullest extent permitted by law. I have read and agree to this Agreement.
