What does the IP clause in my employment contract mean?

There are usually 2 or 3 parts to the typical “IP clause” you might find in your employment agreement. These relate separately to (A) inventions and patents, (B) trade secrets and confi-dential information, and (C) copyrights.
As to inventions and patents — in general, inventions belong at first instance to the person who made the invention, and (amazingly, to some people) NOT to their employer. Employers naturally want to lock down those rights, so they will require you to assign those rights to your employer.
As to trade secrets and confidentiality — one essential element to trade secret rights is that the material is actually secret. In general, employers will want you to promise to maintain the confi-dentiality of their trade secrets and confidential information. You will see this as part of a non-disclosure agreement or clause, often called an NDA.
As to copyrights — In some cases the employer will obtain the copyright in what you create for your employer just due to your employment. When this is not the case, the employer will require you to assign those rights to them. In some cases, the employment agreement will recite that what you create is a “work made for hire”, a legal copyright term