In California, an employer generally owns intellectual property created by an employee within the scope of their employment, especially if a legal agreement like an "assignment of inventions" was signed. However, under California Labor Code Section 2870, an employee retains ownership of intellectual property developed on their own time, outside of the workplace, and without using company resources, provided it's outside the scope of employment. While copyrights often default to the employer through "work for hire" agreements, patent ownership typically requires a specific patent assignment agreement for the employer to claim it. You deserve credit for your own ideas. Unfortunately, [...]