I heard them say during qualifying yesterday that when Wayne left Doug Herbert, he took all the base line info with him. Would that not belong to Herbert? It seems to me that if Wayne was working for Doug on a car owned by Doug that that would be Dougs property.

If I worked for xyz widgets(i don't) & came up with a way to make the widgeter
run faster than abc's widgeter, when I left that would still belong to xyz correct?

I think Doug alluded to the ownership of the data in a top-end interview yesterday. When questioned about Wayne owning the data, Doug said that Wayne was in possession of the data.

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http://tinyurl.com/5uz3lt

Yeah but you can't take posession of what's inside someones brain. The guys who have been doing this forever can set these cars up pretty much from memory. "The books" are a nice starting point for determining how the setup reacted last time under similar conditions of the track, atmosphere, time of day, etc. But to think that having the setup history on one car could give someone a competitive advantage going to another team.... I don't see where that would be all that advantageous.
Even then, you have to keep in mind the variables - using different parts, different people servicing & installing them, etc.

For all you youngin's out there who are working with seasoned Crew Chiefs.... this is why people say "be a sponge". Listen, watch, learn & absorb all you can because someday it will pay off.

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On my arm until the day I die, but in my heart forever

Isnt this similar to WJ and GA and the black book incident ? I would have to suppose physical stuff, black box/book, data on company computers,printed materials etc, belongs to the team owner, but whatever is in Waynes head is his to keep and use as he sees fit.

That totally depends upon the employment structure you work under. Most research and development companies (who provide the shops, laboratories and test beds do require you to work under their intellectual property umbrella. You discover something worth patenting while in their employ, the patent along with the rights, income from it's usage and benefits of ownership belong to the mother company.

That being said, many companies don't require their employees to work under such an umbrella, thus encouraging their creativity which could substantially enhance their work's rewards.

I believe, in Wayne's case, there are computer files that contain the data and I"ll bet a dollar to a dough nut it belongs to Herbert. I'll go further and say I'll bet it goes back prior to Wayne's taking the crew chief helm.

It probably means Wayne took a laptop with him that he had much of his own personal info in as well as run files from the history of the team. I'll bet it will work itself out! If not, Brissett's brain will overcome the loss.

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"The Doctor"
www.wannaberacing.com

I can respect Dwayne's decision but it was hard enough on one of the really good guy's of the sport to have him just up and leave and to take something that would ease the blow isn't right anyway you slice it.
I hope Dwayne does the right thing here!

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a.k.a. Megadeth

Doc
That's kinda what I was assuming.Thanks for clearing up the widget reference also.

Even if ownership wasn't established beforehand, and the data was on a hard drive or paper, a copy could easily be made and then both parties have the data for future use. Common courtesy, respect and don't ever burn your bridges......you just might need/have the opportunity to return, i.e., Jim Brissette.

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Fireball AMX

Quite frankly, the phone interview with Wayne that played on the telecast left me feeling sad for Wayne. Sounded like he's really struggling.
I'd also leave the jury out on Herbert snubbing his offer to copy and return those notes?????

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"The Doctor"
www.wannaberacing.com

When Joe Amato sold his operation to Doug Davenport the deal was supposed to be for "everything", including what was on the computers. But Wayne dumped all the data files from the computers and took the data with him then also.

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Greg Stanley
2007 NorCal Top Comp Champion

Ironically, Davenport's got an ad in ND's classifieds, you can buy the whole operation (apparently minus data) for $550,000.........(heavy sigh...)

Doubt it will do him any good. Do you think he'll get hired again. He said a 'leave of absence' then refers to getting another gig somewhere down the road. In my experience, a leave of absence means time off from the current employer, then you return to that employer. Sounds like he doesn't plan to go back to Herbert.

I can empathize & sympathize with anyone going through a hard place in their life, physically, emotionally, mentally, for any possible reason. The reality is that it's a miracle he survived that crash last Thanksgiving night. What I'm having difficulty with is stiffing a guy like Herbert, who, by anyone's account has done more for him (and others) then anyone on the planet. Hope this works out for everyone.

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Jackee Allen-ProStockJunkie
"The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress." -- Joseph Joubert (1754-1824) French Philosopher

Does anyone out there think there might be another side to their heros?

I still think that there is more to this story than has been told. IMHO.

I think you are dead on right on both sides.