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I have used this approach for work I keep on file. The law, in
Canada, states that written material is the company's property and
permission is required if you wish to retain a copy.
Keeping a copy of projects you have worked on, without permission, and
showing them to other companies can even be considered a form of
Industrial Espionage. It might seem a bit extreme, but I'm in high-tech
and if I walked out the door with copies of things I'm working on, and
go down the street to visit the competition with them, I'll have the
cops & lawyers after me before I cash my next paycheck!! They can't
prevent me from using what I've learned, and, unless I've signed a
contract with a non competition clause in it, they can't prevent me from
working where I want. They can prevent me from taking copies of their
property and showing it to others with out permission.
Each time I negotiate a contract I have my lawyer check the
contract to make sure I'm not signing something that might reduce my
potential opportunities.
Bottom line, think it through, and if it's not a sure thing, ask for a
copy to keep. Otherwise you can't use it no matter how good it is.
I've done everything from business plans to hardware/software
specifications and I can't use any of them because of the information
they contain. 8<)
Dale
John Posada wrote:
>
> What's to say that with permission, your manager
> cannot give a manual back for your portfolio after
> you've turned it in?
>
> "Dear Ms. Bosslady:
>
<Snip/>
> ===
> John Posada
> Western Union International
> (w) jposada -at- westernunion -dot- com
> (p) john -at- tdandw -dot- com
> _________________________________________________________
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> From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000==