PROTECTING YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
We have a guest writer jumping on the PSC Blog Train today. Maria Ricci is the General Manager for PSC in Canada and has many years of industry experience. Recently she has come upon a reoccuring risk to companies who use contract labor and wanted to share her experiences with us. I'm sure you will find it insightful.
PROTECTING YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
by Maria Ricci, GM, PSC
Many corporations today find themselves associated with staffing firms whose multifaceted service offerings include Traditional Staffing, Specialty Staffing, Outsourcing Services, MSP Services, VMS Technology, RPO services, PEO services and what not. A one stop shop philosophy remains the most commonly used value proposition and marketing tool for the majority. Very interesting at the outset and may, at times, seem beneficial. Upon further inspection, risks may present themselves for the corporation regarding the protection of their intellectual property.
A contractor’s professional experience is gained by delivering their services to various and continuous mandates that allow them to put their specialty to work. Contractors will look to staffing companies for assistance in the quest to find these opportunities. Staffing companies make this their priority. A contractor is most valuable to them for placement when they have developed this professional experience particularly within the same industry. This is where the risk presents itself. The Staffing Company will continue to place the contractor where they will continue to deliver the utmost professional and beneficial services which will most often be within a competitive environment to the Corporation. Often then, the contractor finds himself being able to put his experience to practice and sharing his knowledge within this new opportunity and environment. The Corporation’s request for these experienced contractors is high and industry specialized contractors are few. This will prompt the corporation to bring back those same contractors through the years. A corporation’s Protected Intellectual Property has transformed to Shared Intellectual Property.
PSC’s service offering is singularly that of a Professional Employer Organization. This is our key differentiator in comparison to a staffing company. We do not participate in any recruiting activities. We provide 3rd party independent contractor engagement and billing services to those corporations who are manning their Independent Contractor population on their own, bringing known independent contractors back from previous projects or pay rolling independent contractors through staffing companies for long periods of time. PSC’s agreements, contrary to those of staffing companies, allow for and provide all the needed protection for the corporation through our Non- Solicit and Non-Competition, Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure, Intellectual Property clauses which or only amongst some of the clauses within our agreement.
Our value proposition goes beyond the one stop shop.
Please share your thoughts…….