Your rights by state

Some states protect builders. None make the line clear enough.

Select a state to see whether it already has partial employee invention protections and where the gaps are. This is a starting point, not legal advice.

Start here

Select a state to see the current summary.

Choose your state to see the current summary, then use the action template to ask lawmakers for clearer protection.

The common weakness

"Related to business" can swallow modern software.

Many existing statutes follow the same basic structure: personal time and personal resources matter, but employers can still claim work tied to their business, research, or assigned duties.

That can be a fair limit when the conflict is specific. It becomes a problem when a large company can say almost every app, AI tool, media product, marketplace, or cloud service is related to a present or future business interest.

What a stronger state law should add

A clear safe harbor for personal-time, personal-resource work.
Narrow conflict definitions tied to assigned work or protected information.
No blanket app-publishing or open-source bans.
Anti-retaliation protections for lawful independent work.
Plain-language notice of what the employer does and does not claim.