I can relate. I am a mechanical engineer, entrepreneur, business owner. Social engineers is a misnomer they should be called central planners of destruction. They never test anything until they test it on us! Then of course, if it is detrimental, it is too late.

it's a contractual matter. yes, it is common, employers have rights that are directly related to employers' businesses or employees' tasks. some companies overreach and attempt to get all inventors' inventions during the time of employment. This is neither legal or moral.
Many engineers start or run their own businesses just like in AS. today, they more likely to run consulting businesses as opposed to a start-up built around radical innovation. think Jobs, Land (polaroid), Omidyar(eBay), Page/Birn (Google)

In most cases, yes, the EMPLOYER owns anything you invent while performing your duties. You are required, as a condition of employment, to sign in agreement you will comply.

Obviously, most companies will reward the individual for the contribution, either by financial incentive or promotion, or both. Also, employees who consistently show they are inventive, are often the ones who have the greatest protection against getting laid-off, either by the company, or by the government.

As an employee inventing something, doesn't the employer own the patent, or at least co-own? Isn't that written into most employment contracts? Inquiring minds want to know.

twin towers rebuild.:) good comments.
I disagreed with the conclusion in the paper-that if only more engineers that admire her work were the radical innovators she portrays in her novels.
dealing with patents, I know that they are. We have so tied their hands with rules such as Sarbanes Oxley and American Invents Act and refusing to adequately protect patent rights today, they are forced to be small innovators or employees. I would also add if they are employees, they make more money moving from engineering into management and so therefore more political-less technical.
Also, since our accounting systems give no monetary value to inventions, companies think they can only make money off production, when in realty they are making money off of inventing. duh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3csfLkMJ...
it always comes down to duct tape.

Thank you for putting this in the Gulch. Fantastic article. I have a few things to add that apply in today's workplace.

To be a successful engineer, one must think logically. One must also accept reality and be open-minded to new possibilities, even if you didn't think of the idea.
That said, those are the reasons why there are very few Liberals in the engineering field. Most of us (I'm in Systems Engineering) have Bachelor of SCIENCE degrees. The majority of Liberals have Bachelor of ARTS degrees.

This isn't a problem, until you get Liberal-types who happen to get put in charge of Government functions which oversee technical Engineering functions. The division of the minds become obvious between government liberal managers and the project/program Lead engineers whenever extended discussions occur during meetings over a technical issue. In my experience, the gulf between us is very uncomfortable, and irritating because solutions are put on hold due to either the liberal govie either refuses to understand the root cause of the issue (willful ignorance?) or allows their personal political ideology interfere. Ultimately, the lead engineers basically throw up their hands in frustration/exasperation & wait for the govie to make a decision. We, the engineers WRITE down who made WHAT decision for CYA.

Politics has no reason to be involved with technical decisions, and more often than not, just gets in the way of things.

There are certain Federal departments my fellow engineers WILL NOT work for due to the corrosive political atmosphere~we'd rather take less pay and go work elsewhere and in other industries.

The bottom line here is: if you want to get the project done, then keep the Liberal govie-types away from the engineers so as to let them get it over with to move on to the next challenge. (Think Bostons' Big-Dig fiasco here)