Balanced Employee IP Agreement 2.0.0 (GitHub)
This Intellectual Property Agreement clarifies the ownership of intellectual property (IP) created by an employee during their employment. It defines what IP belongs to the company and what remains with the employee, while also granting the company a license to use the employee's personal IP under specific conditions. The agreement aims to protect the company's assets while respecting the employee's personal projects.
Balanced Employee Intellectual Property Agreement 2.0.0
This BALANCED EMPLOYEE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AGREEMENT is between the person named below and [COMPANY NAME], a [State of Incorporation] corporation ("Company").
What is this? This is the Company's Intellectual Property Agreement ("Agreement"). If you've worked in the technology space before, there's a good chance that you've run across one or more of these in the past. This document is the official, entire, and exclusive agreement on what intellectual property ("IP") is yours, and what belongs to the Company. "IP" includes without limitation concepts, designs, developments, discoveries, ideas, improvements, inventions, patents, trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, and works of authorship. In relation to software, IP covers both source code and object code.
What is this not? This document only concerns IP ownership and licensing. Please also refer to the Company employee handbook, your contract, and other policies on security, confidentiality, acting in the Company's best interest, releasing and maintaining Company open source projects, and other topics related to IP and information and the Company's business. Check with the Company's legal department ("Legal") for any situation not clearly and fully addressed by Company policies.
Why is this? The Company needs to be clear on what IP it owns and has rights to. Its customers, employees, and investors depend on the Company having the legal rights to the products and services it is providing so that the Company can continue operating and doing business.
The Company also believes that it's important to be clear on what it doesn't own. The Company doesn't want you looking over your shoulder every time you work on something personal or worrying that the Company will someday seize your open source non-lethal mousetrap simulation software. In other words, the Company isn't interested in appropriating your personal projects.
Read this. Please read this document and be sure you understand it before you sign it. Due to issues of scale, fairness, and consistency, the Company cannot, by and large, negotiate its terms. If you feel you have a particular circumstance that keeps you from signing, please let Legal know. And, of course, you're always free and encouraged to get your own legal counsel to explain anything you're not clear on.
Cool? Then, by signing this Agreement, and as a condition of your employment, you agree to the following:
This is a preview. The full template is free on GitLaw.
5.0 out of 5 on Google
Read reviewsAs seen in
Frequently asked questions
A template isn't binding on its own - like any contract, it becomes binding once it's properly completed and signed. Templates in our curated library are professionally drafted for US or UK law; review any template before you sign it.
Yes. Chat with GitLaw to edit any section, or make changes directly in the editor.
Yes, read about team plans here.
Describe what you need in the chat and GitLaw will draft it for you.
Templates in our curated library are professionally drafted for US or UK law. The wider library comes from the GitLaw community and public sources - a solid starting point, but check any template fits your situation before you rely on it.
Mostly US and UK law. Some templates use general commercial terms that work across jurisdictions, and many note which law they're written for.
It depends on the situation. Templates work well for routine business agreements. For anything involving significant money, complex IP, employment, or areas you're unsure about, it's worth getting professional advice before you sign. GitLaw provides templates and tools, not legal advice.
Open any template in GitLaw and describe the change you want in the chat — 'make clause 4 mutual' or 'add a 30-day notice period', for example. GitLaw drafts the revised language and shows it as a suggested edit. You accept, reject, or keep editing from there.
Yes. Upload a Word, PDF, or Markdown file and GitLaw will open it in the editor. You can review, edit, or chat with GitLaw about it the same way you would with any template from the library.
Trusted by 5,000+ businesses
From template to signed, in one place
Every template opens in an editor with an AI agent alongside it.
Open
Pick a template and open it. Nothing to download, and no credit card to start.
Free to open
Edit with AI
Describe your situation in chat and the agent adapts the wording, clause by clause.
Tracked changes you can review
Send and sign
Share it for negotiation, then collect signatures without leaving GitLaw.
eSign included
Built for your legal work,
with practicing lawyers
Trained on 5,500+ clauses and specialist areas of law. Built with a standards committee of independent lawyers.
As seen in
Ready to get started?
No sales calls, no credit card. Just chat with GitLaw.
GitLaw provides templates and tools, not legal advice. Templates are a starting point, not a substitute for advice on your situation - for anything significant, speak to a qualified lawyer.