Re: tlug: Software laws

["J. David Beutel" <jdb@example.com>]

> > First and foremost, that will be governed by any contractual agreements
> > that exist between you and your employer.  Mine essentially says that
> > if it's materially related to your job duties or our business, it's
> > the company's.  Otherwise, it's mine.  That's really a pretty generous
> > policy, I think.  To be sure, there are companies which have policies
> > essentially stating that anything you invent or write while you
> > work there belongs to them, period.
> > 
> > IANAL, but if your company has no explicit policies regarding that
> > and you write something on your own that isn't part of some project
> > you're working on for the company, or substantially related to
> > that project, they would probably have a hard time claiming they
> > owned it.
> 
> well, in the USA the standard 'intellectual property' agreement states
> that anything that you develop while working for a company belongs to that
> company, if you used company resources to do it.  At least that's how I
> understand it... anyone care to differ with this?

The US agreements I've been under don't require company resources.
Any software made at any time is owned by the company, if the
company thinks that it might have any value, and you must disclose
this software to the company.  These agreements can be deal-breakers.
You should consider them carefully.

I read in Computing Japan a few years ago that Japanese laws are worse,
and employees are subject to a company's IP policies as if they were
an agreement between the employee and the company, even if the company
does not inform the employee of the policies.  Furthermore, some of these
policies go way beyond what US laws would allow, e.g., employees are
not allowed to quit and go work for another company.  Lifetime employment?
Pretty scary...

--
David Beutel               "I dreamed all night about insomnia."
jdb@example.com  
11011011       

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