171–180 of 327 posts
If the company does OSS, state tactfully and __indirectly__ that you'll call them out on stealing your work in public.
Most companies do OSS for PR and bait-and-switch hiring. Very likely they'll back off if something ruins that gravy train.
Surprised that no one has mentioned that you should first review the employment doc you signed. In many (most) cases any IP you create does belong to them. Getting a lawyer involved may just turn in to an expensive and antagonistic experience that winds up with you simply ending up....with them owning the IP. One thing to consider- spin off your side project and try to get your employer as your first customer or as t…
Why do Americans consider themselves free?
Since your project is open source, you should try to evaluate whether your employer could benefit financially from suing you to gain control of your open source project. If not, then they are less likely to do so. Also, you should factor in the PR/reputation cost to the company. If they're in the open source space anyway, it would be bad PR for them if they tried to suppress or discourage the independent open source…
Surprised that no one has mentioned that you should first review the employment doc you signed. In many (most) cases any IP you create does belong to them. Getting a lawyer involved may just turn in to an expensive and antagonistic experience that winds up with you simply ending up....with them owning the IP. One thing to consider- spin off your side project and try to get your employer as your first customer or as t…
> In many (most) cases any IP you create does belong to them. Why do Americans consider themselves free?
Surprised that no one has mentioned that you should first review the employment doc you signed. In many (most) cases any IP you create does belong to them. Getting a lawyer involved may just turn in to an expensive and antagonistic experience that winds up with you simply ending up....with them owning the IP. One thing to consider- spin off your side project and try to get your employer as your first customer or as t…
> In many (most) cases any IP you create does belong to them. Why do Americans consider themselves free?
My non-lawyer understanding is that if you live in California and your company is based or the contract states that it is intended to be interpreted by California law then I’ve always operated under the following understanding:
(Not a lawyer but...) I’ve been led to believe you are safe if you work on your own time, with your own resources and it does not directly relate to the employer.
I think someone referred to this once as The California Clause. If that is the right name then I’d say the California clause is not going to protect your ownership on this case. However, maybe you aren’t in California? It is hard to imagine a state in the US that is more employee friendly so I would be surprised if you found your situation better elsewhere. Besides possibly another country? Even then I’d be surprised. Things tend to trend the other direction outside of California.
That being said, many have told you to discuss with a lawyer. And some have even warned that it can cause unnecessary conflict if you do. They aren’t wrong but you can always talk to a lawyer just to see what they think your options are. If this is as much of a slam dunk case in favor of your employer as I assume it is, I like to think a good lawyer would be able to let you know.
On the bright side, if your employer does take it over and they still allow it to be open source, that’s super great! Getting paid to do open source is a blessing. There are also so many benefits to being the creator of a valuable tool in your company. These things can often lead to promotions, bonuses and all kinds of personal fulfillment at work.
If you do learn that you’re going to have to hand it over, find a way to spin it into a good thing. Don’t let it make you bitter. And next time you build something on the side, consider your employment contract and decide if you want to build something that doesn’t relate with your employer so you might have a better shot to align your desire to keep it.
Try not to let this make you bitter. This could be a great thing whichever way it turns out.
Surprised that no one has mentioned that you should first review the employment doc you signed. In many (most) cases any IP you create does belong to them. Getting a lawyer involved may just turn in to an expensive and antagonistic experience that winds up with you simply ending up....with them owning the IP. One thing to consider- spin off your side project and try to get your employer as your first customer or as t…
> In many (most) cases any IP you create does belong to them. Why do Americans consider themselves free?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
But this is the obvious answer. OP didn't need you to tell him to get a lawyer. If he had that kind of money he'd be talking to a lawyer not us. I mean I know you meant well and I know I probably sound like a negative jerk but yeah of course it's a legal issue and he should talk to a lawyer. It's like if someone has a stomach ache and they asked online what it might be and someone tells them they should see a doctor.…
> An out-of-the-box idea might be to find a paralegal on FIVERR and ask them to dig up resources to read up on. Ideas are a picodollar a dozen. Why don't you try this one and tell us how it works out? Or, at a minimum, find out if you could even theoretically hire a paralegal on Fiverr?
Second, what a nasty little comment you've constructed.
Third, you've made quite a few assumptions that I have zero interest in discussing with you (see the previous paragraph).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> An out-of-the-box idea might be to find a paralegal on FIVERR and ask them to dig up resources to read up on. Ideas are a picodollar a dozen. Why don't you try this one and tell us how it works out? Or, at a minimum, find out if you could even theoretically hire a paralegal on Fiverr?
Seems like it'd be a pretty bad idea on the paralegal's part to take the gig.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
My point is you don't need to say obvious things. It's a waste of everyone's time.
Given the amount of pushback on that in this thread from you and plenty of others it does not seem that it is all that obvious.