自立国以来，美国一直将知识产权保护视作经济和社会发展的关键支柱，并通过建立健全的知识产权法律体系，为创新者提供了公平有序且回报丰厚的工作环境。这种保护不仅促进了技术创新和商业活动的繁荣发展，也为国家的经济繁荣和社会进步注入了强大动力。劳动法在美国是联邦法和州法都有管辖权的法律部门，本文将主要以加州劳动法为例介绍美国对于雇员业余时间发明权利的保护。

为了平衡雇用双方的权利和利益，促进公平和合理的雇用环境以及保障雇员在个人时间内的发明权利，加州劳工法第2870条对雇主与雇员之间关于发明权的归属问题做出了规定，具体而言，第2870条的内容如下：

“（a) Any provision in an employment agreement which provides that an employee shall assign, or offer to assign, any of his or her rights in an invention to his or her employer shall not apply to an invention that the employee developed entirely on his or her own time without using the employer's equipment, supplies, facilities, or trade secret information except for those inventions that either:

(1) Relate at the time of conception or reduction to practice of the invention to the employer's business, or actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development of the employer; or

(2) Result from any work performed by the employee for the employer.

(b) To the extent a provision in an employment agreement purports to require an employee to assign an invention otherwise excluded from being required to be assigned under subdivision (a), the provision is against the public policy of this state and is unenforceable.”

译文：（a）任何雇用协议中的条款，规定雇员应将其发明的任何权利转让或提供给雇主的，不适用于雇员在完全利用个人时间、未使用雇主的设备、用品、设施或商业秘密信息的情况下开发的发明，除非这些发明属于以下情况之一：

(1) 在发明构思或转化为实践时，与雇主的业务有关，或与雇主实际的或可证明预期的研究或开发有关；或；

(2) 是由雇员为雇主执行的工作而产生的。

(b) 就雇用协议中的条款要求雇员转让一个根据（a）款排除不需要转让的发明而言，该条款违反了本州的公共政策，是不可执行的。

根据第2870条的规定可知，雇员在个人时间内开发的新的想法、产品或者技术且未使用雇主的设备、供应品、设施或商业机密信息。雇主无权要求雇员将这些在个人时间内开发的发明的权利转让给雇主。然而该条也明确规定了一些例外情况。如果雇员在个人时间内开发的发明与雇主的业务相关，或者是在雇用期间完成工作的一部分，雇主则有权要求雇员将发明的权利转让给雇主。这种规定的目的是确保雇主能够合理地享有雇员在工作期间开发的与雇主业务相关的发明。

美国和睿（Concord&Sage）律师事务所评注：

针对加州劳工法第2870条，值得注意的是，对于符合该条规定的雇员业余时间发明，即使雇主与雇员在协议中约定了雇员将该发明转让给雇主，该条款也会因为违反加州的公共政策而无效。对于雇员在工作中形成的知识产权而言，通常情况下属于雇主所有。但为了更好地保护自身的权益，雇主应当让雇员签署雇用协议，确认其雇员身份（并非合同工，否则雇主无法自动获得工作中形成的知识产权），并声明作为雇用条件，该雇员开发的所有知识产权自动成为雇主的财产，以下条款可作为参照：

1.The employee hereby assigns now all present and future rights to all inventions, improvements, ideas, and work product of any kind that arise on or after this date relevant or relating in any way to any business of the employer to employer in consideration of being hired.

2.The employee agrees that as of today and for every day hereafter, any expression made in a tangible form, whether transitory or permanent, are works for hire, and owned by employer, in consideration of being hired.

3.The employee hereby waives any ownership rights in any invention, improvement, ideas or work product of any kind that arise on or after this date relevant or relating in any way to the business of the employer to employer in consideration of being hired.

4.This contract is governed by the laws of ____________________ without regard to its conflicts of laws rules. Should any prior, present or future law of the United States or the State of ____________________ conflicts with any provision of this agreement, then this contract is automatically amended to modify any provision to the minimum extent necessary to comply with the law.

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