Must I sell my patent rights to former employer for $1?
I got laid off a couple of years ago from a small biotech and have happily moved on from that incredibly toxic environment. Now my former employer has filed a provisional patent application on which I'm named as an inventor. They recently sent me an 'assignment' letter, in which I'm instructed to transfer any rights I have associated with that invention over to that former employer for the sum of $1. I did this many times in a former life when I worked in big pharma - it was a condition of employment, and I collected many $1 coins. But since I was let go at this biotech, can I charge them, say $1,000,000? What if I don't sign at all?
Edit
This was not a fly-by-night startup, and even without checking I'm sure I signed over my rights to any IP either in my employment documents or in my severance documents or both.
In no world would the reputational damage justify a push for an improbable and likely inconsequential payout
It's occurring to me that I wouldn't even be asking this question if I trusted my former employer and wanted the best for them. There is value in treating your employees well. Piss enough people off and it is more likely to come back and bite you eventually. Remember, the tide turns, the pendulum swings, etc etc.