[gameprogrammer] Re: Non competes

On 4/29/05, Gautam Narain <gautam_n_@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hey,
>=20
> A couple of Game companies in India seem to have non competes and they ar=
e
> pretty well known within the industry. What I mean is they have non compe=
tes
> that states that after you leave them you cannot work in a similar compan=
y
> for a year within the whole country. Now this does not exist in the regul=
ar
> software industry which also have equally costly technology to contend wi=
th
> when they train people. Although the company considers that I am a traine=
d
> professionals they claim that these are terms used to deter people from
> leaving the company after having learnt their technology. Firstly if I do
> join a company I wouldn't be planning on leaving it for at least a while,
> but I would still be skeptical of wanting to sign such agreements. Second=
ly
> why would a good company be afraid of an employee leaving ?
>=20
> My question to all of you is - how valid are these points ? What more
> questions can I pose to such companies which give me such an explanation.
> Surely the regular software companies are also weary of such issues and t=
hey
> too spends millions on technology, so how come they are able to handle su=
ch
> issues ?
>=20
> Thanks
> Gautam Narain
>=20
> Gautam Narain
> http://www.geocities.com/gautamn2000
>=20

I worked for a few years at a prominent american ISP
(http://www.aol.com) as a software engineer. I was also asked to sign
a non-compete that had similar terms. I wasn't allowed to work for any
internet company for a full year after leaving. At first I was a bit
skeptical, but it was a great job opportunity and I didn't want to
miss out because I was worried about the future. While I was there,
many people were laid off over time and many of them went on to find
jobs pretty quickly. A few of them did go to Internet companies and it
wasn't a problem. I asked my manager about it. He told me that they
really didn't care unless the employee had taken some sort of
proprietary technology and gave it to a competitor. In the gaming
industry, I'm sure that is also the concern.

Another thing to keep in mind (in America) contract law is generally
trumped by just about every other form of law. A contract that asks
you not to work for another gaming company would be nearly impossible
to enforce in the US. What you would have to keep in mind though is
that if you break a contract, you will likely burn your bridge with
the old company.

-W


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