Contributing - Balanced Employee IP Agreement (GitHub)
Updated 17 October 2025
The Balanced Employee IP Agreement (BEIPA) is an open-source template designed to address intellectual property ownership between employers and employees. It provides a framework for managing IP created during employment, aiming for a fair and balanced approach that can be adapted for various jurisdictions.
Contributing
Hi there! We're thrilled that you'd like to contribute to the Balanced Employee IP Agreement (BEIPA). Your help is essential. Our README describes the project, its purpose, and caveats, and is necessary reading for contributors.
Contributions to this project are released to the public domain under CC0-1.0.
Please note that this project is released with a Contributor Code of Conduct. By participating in this project you agree to abide by its terms.
Help wanted
Browse open issues to see current requests. We also generally want to hear about:
Legal issues with BEIPA (e.g., how it works in different jurisdictions)
Typos
Clearer wording
Companies using BEIPA
Translations
Other employee IP agreements that have been open sourced
Open an issue to tell us about any of the above. You may also open a pull request to propose specific changes, but it's always OK to start with an issue.
Substantive questions about and suggestions for BEIPA are welcome. We'll try to acknowledge them promptly, but may take a long time to respond on the substance, if we can. GitHub uses a version of the agreement, so our communication about it and direction for its development must be carefully considered. Also, remember that such communication is not legal advice and comes without warranty.
Versioning
BEIPA applies MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH semantic versioning to its domain as follows:
MAJOR version when objectives of agreement change. A company using BEIPA would have to fully evaluate a new major version to determine fit.
MINOR version when agreement changes do not change objectives of agreement but are substantial enough to merit legal scrutiny from any user.
PATCH version for corrections which any user would likely want to accept with minimal additional review.
Any change to the agreement text mandates a new version. Before merging any change to the agreement to main, a maintainer will:
Have changes reviewed by GitHub Legal.
Update version number in the agreement title/heading and commit to branch to be merged.
Merge branch with new version.
Tag and push: git tag vx.x.x; git push --tags
Create docx, odt, and pdf copies of the agreement:
pandoc -f commonmark+smart Balanced_Employee_IP_Agreement.md -o Balanced_Employee_IP_Agreement.docx pandoc -f commonmark+smart Balanced_Employee_IP_Agreement.md -o Balanced_Employee_IP_Agreement.odt pandoc --pdf-engine=xelatex -f commonmark+smart Balanced_Employee_IP_Agreement.md -o Balanced_Employee_IP_Agreement.pdf
Make a release from the tag created above, adding the docx, odt, and pdf copies as binary attachments.
https://github.com/github/balanced-employee-ip-agreement/releases/latest will show the release just made.
This process may become more involved if and when required by translations, support for additional jurisdictions, or desire to have old versions available in source tree, rather than only in history. At this time it is not necessary to design these procedures before they are needed.
Resources
About this template
What is this template?
Contributing - Balanced Employee IP Agreement (GitHub) is a free, ready-to-use Intellectual Property Licensing template you can open, customize, and download on GitLaw. It gives you a professionally structured starting point, so you never have to draft from a blank page. The wording is plain and modern, organized into clear sections that are easy to read, edit, and adapt to your own situation before you share or sign it.
When should you use it?
Reach for this Intellectual Property Licensing template whenever you need a reliable agreement quickly and want to be sure the essentials are covered. It suits individuals, freelancers, startups, and established businesses alike. Instead of paying for a document drafted from scratch, you can start here, tailor the details to your arrangement, and have a polished draft ready in minutes. Always review the final wording against the laws that apply where you live or do business.
What's typically included?
A well-drafted Intellectual Property Licensing usually sets out the parties involved, the scope of the agreement, and each side's rights and responsibilities. Expect sections covering key terms and definitions, how long the agreement lasts, how it can be ended, and what happens if something goes wrong. This template brings those building blocks together in a sensible order, so you can focus on the specifics rather than worrying about what to include. Open it to read the full document, then sign up to edit, negotiate, and e-sign it directly in GitLaw.