Re: Ownership of work?

David Gibbs wrote:

> Folks:
>
> Who owns the work?
>
> Obviously, if programming is done on an employers time, using employers
> resources (hardware, office space, software, etc), they own the code.
>
> However ... what if a programmer does work on his own time, using his own
> resources (say, an account on Netshare400) ... but it's code ... does the
> employer have any claim on the resultant code?
>
> A friend of mine is encountering this type of situation ... he was
> presented with a new employment contract that states "Any software
> developed while employed by xyz corp is the sole property of xyz corp"
> (or
> something to that effect).
>
> Ideas?
>
> david

I don't think I'd like that :( I'm fortunate to work for a more
understanding company, as most of my code has been written at work,
though some on NetShare400 too. I came to an agreement with my boss on
copyright issues, though I think it would be quite different if I was
charging for my software. The company isn't a software house, so doesn't
lose out that way, and my code doesn't give away any trade secrets or
specialist business practices that could benefit our competitors. As
long as I stick to generic utilities I'm okay, but something like a free
kitchen design package would be a non-starter (assuming I could even
write one - not easy on the AS/400 ;-)

Regards, Martin

--
martin@dbg400.net  jamaro@firstlinux.net  http://www.dbg400.net
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