A few years ago, I went to an aircraft manufacturer’s technical school on my employer’s dime. I took 30 pages of notes on the aircraft’s problems and fixes that were discussed. I was also given several hundred pages of technical info not available to the general public.
I could probably pull in a quick $10,000 selling my notes on the internet, assuming 500 of the 10,000+ aircraft owners go for it. Many of these fixes are not mentioned in the factory service/repair manuals, which are severely outdated and may never be updated.
I’m selling MY notes, I created them, they are MY interpretation of the classroom discussions, no factory written materials are included. However, the factory instructors were the source for most of the fixes that were discussed.
Much of this information is not flattering to the manufacturer, because it exposes that new $400,000+ aircraft were leaving the factory with a multitude of problems, some without any real solutions, a practice that I believe is continuing. They did not want these discussions made public, but I did not sign any non-disclosure agreement.
The factory filed bankruptcy after the school, and has been resurrected with new investors. I’m sure the intellectual property rights transferred to them.
My employer showed no interest in my notes or the factory written materials. They stopped selling this brand of aircraft after I returned from the school and no longer solicit these aircraft owners for business.
Question............Are my notes MY property, to sell as I please, or do they belong to the factory? Or perhaps my old employer?
I have rewritten them to be as flattering to the factory as possible, without compromising the integrity of the data.
To those who offer insightful and intelligent opinions, THANK YOU.