Rampant in the tech industry, <A HREF="http://www.careers.eweek.com/article/Why+Cant+I+Compete+Clearing+the+NonCompete+Haze/219562_1.aspx?kc=EWKNLEND111607FEA1">most workers have no choice but to sign non-compete agreements</A>--but are they even worth getting worked up over? The experts say no.

A technology professional working at a large company was recently asked to sign a noncompete contract and confidentiality agreement that gave the company a royalty-free license to any "invention" he created while working there and up to six months after leaving the company. The employee, who declined to offer his name or the company in question, was worried about signing his creative freedom and future competitiveness away and called out to the Slashdot community for advice.

Responses ranged from a sarcastic "good luck fighting it" to "don't worry, it's not enforceable" and, from the employee himself, "obviously, it's time for a new job," each underscoring the hazy area noncompete clauses occupy in modern workplaces. Employees hate them, employers consider them necessary, and although they are almost never brought to court--and even when they are, are rarely enforceable--they strike enough fear in the heart of workers that many would rather stay put than risk being sued for violation of the contract's term, say employment lawyers.