If he is based in California then the court systems will put the onus on they company for proving his project infringed. There are three things I've learned to remember in California about moonlighting; Don't work on any project that has the same goals as one of your employers project, get clearance in writing when you start, and keep good notes.
Early in my career doing hardware design on my own was 'easy' since I was always employed as a software engineer, and number two (get clearance) really helped me understand both how cool NetApp was and how bogus Google was in what they consider 'their space'. Number three helped early on, keeping a notebook I found was helpful for me to keep from not bringing things from work home into my projects.
Early in my career doing hardware design on my own was 'easy' since I was always employed as a software engineer, and number two (get clearance) really helped me understand both how cool NetApp was and how bogus Google was in what they consider 'their space'. Number three helped early on, keeping a notebook I found was helpful for me to keep from not bringing things from work home into my projects.