Maintaining IP Ownership as a Contractor

[gabeb1920]

Ok so I've got an idea which has grown from a need I've identified at my 9-5 job at a public hospital. I've already started contacting other centres and have got a very positive response.

I'll be creating reports from an patient record database which is used at around 50 centres around Australia and a few hundred around the world. I guess that makes it a fairly small market so it's not likely to make millions but for my first business I figure it's be good to start small in an area that I know.

The reports will be put on an online store where centres could go to buy reports for their system. I would also allow others to upload their reports and either sell them or share them. I'd then take a fee from reports people are paying for.

My problem is that I can't create these reports without using the systems at the hospital I work at. I already create some of these reports as part of my job but I know there are more reports they want that I just don't have time to build.

My plan is to some how ask my boss if I can work on Saturdays to build reports that my centre wants but I retain the right to resell them as I worked unpaid to build them. As we are a public not for profit hospital I'm also hoping they'll agree to let me use some of the current reports I've created to help seed the store. These previous reports will be shared for free and then the others I'll be able to charge for. It's not like the hospital will be losing money as they won't be selling them so there'll be no lost income.

I figure it's a win-win-win:
- Winning for the hospital as they get more reports than they would have with just my 9-5 work with no extra cost.
- Other hospitals will get access to an extensive collection of reports at a reduced cost than if they hired a contractor to create them all themselves (reports can cost upwards of $1000 to create by hiring a contractor)
- Myself and other independent report creators can gain access to a larger audience and sell to other centres instead of just 1

I'm after a bit of advice about how I might pitch this to my boss. Are there any legalities I might need to consider? Is there anything else the hospital might gain out of this situation?

Has anyone created such an arrangement or similar before who might have advice?

I appreciate all the feedback

Cheers

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[David Young]

It sounds as if you are on dodgy ground here. I would expect Any IP developed under a normal employment contract will likely belong to the employer not the employee. There is also a potential issue with you being given permission to work on your employers equipment in your own time. If you are on site as an employee then you are likely covered by your employers insurance. If there as a sub contractor you would likely need you own liability cover just in case. Are there any data protection issue that would need to be considered?

 

[Rudynate]

In the US, under a law called HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Privacy Act), use and dissemination of patient data is strictly regulated. Improper use of patient data carries both civil and criminal liability. In Oz, you have a similar law, the Privacy Act. You will have to make sure that your products comply with all of the relevant privacy statutes.

 

[gabeb1920]

It sounds as if you are on dodgy ground here. I would expect Any IP developed under a normal employment contract will likely belong to the employer not the employee. There is also a potential issue with you being given permission to work on your employers equipment in your own time. If you are on site as an employee then you are likely covered by your employers insurance. If there as a sub contractor you would likely need you own liability cover just in case. Are there any data protection issue that would need to be considered?

Thanks for the reply @David Young

You're right that the reports I create in my 9-5 will be owned by the hospital but as they aren't going to sell them or anything I'm hoping I can work out some sort of agreement where they will let me share them for free for the benefit of other hospitals with the same software.

I'm also hoping that I can come on as a contractor for Saturdays at a heavily reduced rate. That way I should be covered by all the standard liability stuff and will be able to state specifically that I will retain ownership of the reports I create.

I'll also be connecting remotely via a VPN so I don't think there'll be any physical liability to worry about. Perhaps liability to the data and/or software though? Definitely something I'll have to think about so thanks

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[gabeb1920]

In the US, under a law called HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Privacy Act), use and dissemination of patient data is strictly regulated. Improper use of patient data carries both civil and criminal liability. In Oz, you have a similar law, the Privacy Act. You will have to make sure that your products comply with all of the relevant privacy statutes.

Thanks for the reply @Rudynate

The reports files I will provide won't contain any patient data. The hospitals will need to take the report and run it against their own database so I will never see or be in possession of patient data except while testing the reports. Should be all good on that front.

I'll need to make sure that I remove any database credentials which I may use for testing before I distribute the report though.

The main area I'm currently struggling with is organising how to build an arrangement where I can have ownership of the reports I create as a contractor. Trying to work out how to pitch it to the boss.

 

[Rudynate]

Thanks for the reply @Rudynate

The reports files I will provide won't contain any patient data. The hospitals will need to take the report and run it against their own database so I will never see or be in possession of patient data except while testing the reports. Should be all good on that front.

I'll need to make sure that I remove any database credentials which I may use for testing before I distribute the report though.

The main area I'm currently struggling with is organising how to build an arrangement where I can have ownership of the reports I create as a contractor. Trying to work out how to pitch it to the boss.

Sounds like you have that aspect under control. In the US, HIPPA compliance is so important that companies hire HIPPA-compliance experts to make sure that they have satisfied all of the requirements. I don't know what the regulatory climate is like down under.

 

[gabeb1920]

Sounds like you have that aspect under control. In the US, HIPPA compliance is so important that companies hire HIPPA-compliance experts to make sure that they have satisfied all of the requirements. I don't know what the regulatory climate is like down under.

Not nearly as strict from what I know. I've never worked in US but have heard about HIPPA.

We have guidelines and as you said the privacy act but no strict rules about how to maintain privacy. Just basics like "don't share patient data". Hopefully it won't take a massive breach for things to improve!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[David Young]

Any third party or free softwareyou can use to compile the report? Presumably you are working on a crystal reports type system?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jon L]

I'd avoid doing anything at your hospital. Can you take on another hospital as a client on the weekend? In your contract with them, you can specify who keeps the IP

 

[gabeb1920]

Any third party or free softwareyou can use to compile the report? Presumably you are working on a crystal reports type system?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I can create the report ok but it's testing it against the database and knowing in which tables/fields the data is stored that would require access to the system.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[gabeb1920]

I'd avoid doing anything at your hospital. Can you take on another hospital as a client on the weekend? In your contract with them, you can specify who keeps the IP

Thanks for the reply @Jon L

I am looking into contacting other hospitals to perhaps do some work for them as well so that would be an option.

I'm also looking to ask other hospitals to share their reports on the website to help build up the number of reports available. I figure the more reports people can choose from on my site the more people will see it as the go to resource for their reporting needs.

Even if I start with just providing an area for non-profit hospitals to share their knowledge and information perhaps I can then add premium support or customised reports as a paid add on?

I've spoken with a couple of other people now and they all seem really excited about the idea so I think it's worth continuing to pursue in some fashion.

 

[Jon L]

Thanks for the reply @Jon L

I am looking into contacting other hospitals to perhaps do some work for them as well so that would be an option.

I'm also looking to ask other hospitals to share their reports on the website to help build up the number of reports available. I figure the more reports people can choose from on my site the more people will see it as the go to resource for their reporting needs.

Even if I start with just providing an area for non-profit hospitals to share their knowledge and information perhaps I can then add premium support or customised reports as a paid add on?

I've spoken with a couple of other people now and they all seem really excited about the idea so I think it's worth continuing to pursue in some fashion.

focus on providing what your clients actually needs, not what structure seems to work best for you. If your customer needs a premium option, then by all means, give that to them. If an a-la-carte option works better for them, do that. Add value first, then everything else will fall into place.

 

[gabeb1920]

focus on providing what your clients actually needs, not what structure seems to work best for you. If your customer needs a premium option, then by all means, give that to them. If an a-la-carte option works better for them, do that. Add value first, then everything else will fall into place.

Good advice!

The more people I talk to I'm finding that they seem to want a sharing economy where things are given away for free. We all work in non-profit hospitals where money is not always easy to come by but the need of patients is everywhere. Even if I don't make a cent off this but I enable people to improve their processes and systems by sharing knowledge and experience I will be happy.

Kinda like this forum where people all share their advice and experience without any financial reward. It all helps make the world a better place which helps us all in the end.

Thanks for the reminder @Jon L

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Jon L]

Good advice!

The more people I talk to I'm finding that they seem to want a sharing economy where things are given away for free. We all work in non-profit hospitals where money is not always easy to come by but the need of patients is everywhere. Even if I don't make a cent off this but I enable people to improve their processes and systems by sharing knowledge and experience I will be happy.

Kinda like this forum where people all share their advice and experience without any financial reward. It all helps make the world a better place which helps us all in the end.

Thanks for the reminder @Jon L

yeah though I don't know that I would recommend giving away the expertise you use to keep a roof over your head. Hospitals pay big bucks for all sorts of things:
MRI machines
Robots that allow them to provide better service
Catheters
All sorts of drugs
etc etc etc.

None of those vendors would be expected to provide their goods or services for free.

If you're helping to make a hospital run more efficiently, you deserve to be compensated. Especially by hospitals that spend hundreds of millions of dollars per year on all sorts of other things.

Now, if you're donating your time to a hospital in Uganda that can barely afford to pay its electric bill, thats a different story.

 

[gabeb1920]

yeah though I don't know that I would recommend giving away the expertise you use to keep a roof over your head. Hospitals pay big bucks for all sorts of things:
MRI machines
Robots that allow them to provide better service
Catheters
All sorts of drugs
etc etc etc.

None of those vendors would be expected to provide their goods or services for free.

If you're helping to make a hospital run more efficiently, you deserve to be compensated. Especially by hospitals that spend hundreds of millions of dollars per year on all sorts of other things.

Now, if you're donating your time to a hospital in Uganda that can barely afford to pay its electric bill, thats a different story.

Good point. I do get paid fairly well for what I do now so I don't mind sharing some of it if it helps other centres. I also think this could then lead to other opportunities down the road such as consulting work, etc.

I've heard it said before in a few places that giving away 90% of your knowledge/products builds trust in and value in the last 10% because people will know that you are the real deal.