IP28 Jan 2020 12:58
Founders: typically, founders create, develop and register IP rights (or other similar rights) before the incorporation of their company. They might, for instance, coin brand names, formulate algorithms, register domain names, develop the website, etc. Any IP created by the founder(s) prior to the incorporation of the company will be owned by the founders, not the company. Founders also tend not to enter into employment or consultancy agreements with the company for their services. As a consequence, IP developed by founders during the performance of their services after incorporation of the company will not ordinarily be owned by the company.
Employees: the basic rule is that the company will own the IP that its employees develop, provided it is created in the course of his/her employment. Exceptions exist, however, and employment agreements should always contain comprehensive provisions to ensure that IP is owned by the company.
Consultants (also known as independent contractors): unless there is a written contract in place that transfers ownership, the consultant will almost always own the IP that he/she/it creates. This is a very common issue and often requires the consultant to enter into a written contract to transfer ownership of the rights if such an agreement does not already exist.
So now the question is when was IP created and has GM been employed at that time.