Re: What are a programmer's rights to what he writes?

I think the original question had to do with what was "legal" (and
defendable) for a programmer to do. I have been (long time ago) interviewed
by lawyers (both sides) in such a case. They all settled before going to
court.The programmer, as well as the company he sold the code to lost BIG! I
wish someone (who truly knows-and you don't need to be a lawyer) would post
something clearer. I haven't seen it yet. For my 2 cents, AND I AM NOT A
LAWYER, THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE - my understanding is:
If you work for a company (inhouse or consultant) in absence of a specific
contract, the individual owns/has rights to nothing.
Yes, it may be legal to keep samples, but certainly not a product, or major
pieces of code.
The company owns it all.
If your a consulting company, again, if no specific contract, you enter the
lawyers area of "who provided the expertise, design, etc". If the consultant
(who is a fool to work without a specific contract) provides the "expertise"
to complete the project, and is controlling the specifications, then owns
the product, and the end-company has "use" rights. If the end-company
provides the specs, etc, they own it. If each side provides this, the
lawyers own it. And working on and maintaining an in-house or package
solution, the consultant can never claim access to any code already there,
which the consultant did not previously own. No matter how long you've
maintained it!
Sub-contractors (with no contract) get nothing.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Stone, Brad V (TC)" <bvstone@taylorcorp.com>
To: <MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2000 11:23 AM
Subject: RE: What are a programmer's rights to what he writes?


> If you write it and are payed by the company, it's theirs.  but, that
> doesn't stop you from saving a library when you leave, or even easier,
> FTPing it to a PC.  :)
>
> That's why I try to do a lot of my programming at Netshare400.com.  That
way
> it's mine no matter what.  All of my shareware is written on this machine.
> I do give it to my employer for free, but I'm thinking about chaning my
mind
> on that one.  ;)
>
> Brad
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Nathan M. Andelin [mailto:nathanma@haaga.com]
> > Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2000 8:49 AM
> > To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
> > Subject: What are a programmer's rights to what he writes?
> >
> >
> > Is it illegal for a programmer to use source code he was
> > employed to write?
> > Is it unethical?  For example, should a programmer be able
> > show some of his
> > past source code to a prospective future employer?
> >
> > One of the people on this list express his opinion last week
> > that it was
> > both illegal and unethical.
> >
> > My question is what rights do programmers have to their
> > works?  And, in your
> > opinion, what rights should a programmer have?
> >
> > Actually, I was forced to defend myself not long ago in
> > Federal court in a
> > copyright case.  So, I gained some strong feelings about this
> > issue - as
> > well as a clearer understanding of the law.
> >
> > I feel this question is appropriate for the people on this
> > list because it
> > affects so many of us.  In asking, however, I have two fears.
> >  The first is
> > apathy - most of you have probably never needed to assert
> > yourselves on this
> > issue.  Second, some of you may feel uncomfortable sharing
> > your opinion in a
> > public forum.  For example, an employer who is highly
> > dependent on a skilled
> > programmer may not want to risk offending his employee by
> > asserting that the
> > employee should have no rights to his work.  On the other
> > hand, an employee
> > may not want to offend an employer, or may feel uncomfortable
> > saying he
> > ought to have rights even though the law does not support that view.
> >
> > If this is the case, I would still appreciate a private and
> > confidential
> > e-mail message to me.   nathanma@haaga.com
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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