The major change this version introduces is a license to the company for employee IP related to the business created during employment but outside the scope of the employee's job. This helps with questions around scope and knowledge that were brought up regarding v1, see the v2 pull request for links to feedback issues and a diff.
Other changes:
- removed confidentiality obligations for employees to the company. These are typically addressed by corporate policies, and don’t also need to be in an IP agreement.
- added a clause where employees agree not to share any information subject to someone else’s NDA or IP rights. This helps protect both the employee and the company by ensuring that the employee doesn’t run afoul of prior agreements and that the company has freedom to operate.
- removed the annex specifically detailing certain U.S. state laws to genericize the agreement for broader use. The annex is now in another document for reference, but should not be considered the last word or legal advice for employees or companies. - added a “survivorship” clause, so that if any terms are found invalid by a court, the others remain in effect. This helps ensure the interests of employees and companies are respected.
- made some additions to make BEIPA 2.0 easier to adapt to use in non-U.S. jurisdictions, starting with Germany.
- streamlined and removed some unnecessary legalese.