Data Ownership

Who owns the data that was created while at job? Does the company have rights to all data or intellectual property that was created by an employee? For example, can an employee keep the company’s clients contact list?

Currently, I am working in the State of Qatar and the local laws here state that after a foreign employee finishes his contract, he must leave the country for five years before he can come back and work for another employer, the businesses community argues that if an employee switch jobs, he may take trade secrets with him to the new employer and that will cause them to lose competitive advantage.

I think there is no one standard policy a company should follow; it all depends on the job situation and the total compensation package being offered to the employee for his services.