1904 – February 2 – Service Agreement Between John S. Apperson and General Electric

SERVICE AGREEMENT, made this 2nd day of February, 1904, between the General Electric Company (hereinafter called the Electric Company), and J. S. Apperson of Schenectady, in the county of Schenectady and State of New York (herein after called the employee)

  1. Said employee hereby agrees to serve the Electric Company faithfully and to the best of his ability as Engineer or otherwise, under the direction of its 3rd Vice President or other executive officers, devoting his entire time, energy and skill to the services of said Electric Company and the promotion of its interests; and to perform from time to time such work as said 3rd Vice President or other executive officer shall request, and at such places as he or they shall direct. Said work shall be done and said services performed in a manner satisfactory to the Electric Company.
  2. Said employee agrees for the payments to be made him as hereinafter set forth to disclose and assign to the Electric Company all inventions made or conceived by him in the employ of the Electric Company and relating to business of the character carried on or contemplated by the Electric Company including those made by him during the period between the time when he entered the employ of the Electric Company and the date of this agreement; and he will from time to time, upon request, make application, through the Patent Solicitor of the Electric Company, for Letters Patent of the United States and any and all other countries, on said inventions, and assign all such applications to the Electric Company or its order forthwith. The necessary costs and expenses of making such applications and assignments and procuring said Letters Patent, shall be borne and paid by the Electric Company; but said employee agrees, without charge for his services beyond the weekly payments herein provided for, at any and all times before or after the expiration of the agreement, to give the Electric Company, its attorneys and solicitors, all reasonable assistance in preparing said applications and in drawing the claims; and from time to time, on request, to execute all papers and do all things that may reasonably be required in order to protect the rights of the Electric Company and vest in it or its assigns the inventions, applications, and Letters Patent herein provided for. Time actually spent by the employee on such work at the request of the Electric Company at the rate specified in Article 3 hereof.
  3. The Electric Company agrees to pay the said employee at the rate of fourteen ($14.00) dollars per week, and at the same rate for any part of the week, while this contract is in force; which payment shall be in full for all services rendered and the assignment of all said inventions to the Electric Company. This contract shall be in force from month to month subject to cancellation by either party on thirty days’ notice to the other.
  4. No change in the salary of the employee shall be made, except by mutual consent, while this agreement is in force, but if any such change is made, or if the character of the services performed is changed, the employee shall continue to be bound to disclose and assign inventions, as above specified.

In witness whereof, said General Electric Company has caused these presents to be signed in its name and in its behalf by its 3rd Vice President hereunto duly authorized; and said employee has hereto set his hand, the day and year first above written.

GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
By E. W. Rice (Third Vice President
J. S. Apperson