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I recently learned from a github discussion that if you work for Amazon, Google etc. you are also not allowed to work on any open source projects, even on your free time without their permission.
This is obviously untrue, as evidenced by the multitude of people here on HN and at PyCon and other conferences who work at Google and routinely work on open source projects. edit: I see - I initially misread parent. Yes, some Googlers are work-for-hire.
My first thought: WTF is gigster?
I recently learned from a github discussion that if you work for Amazon, Google etc. you are also not allowed to work on any open source projects, even on your free time without their permission.
Would it be possible to link that discussion?
The situation is quite simple:
- pre-existing work I contributed to this project remains under my copyright
- contributions other people make to this project remain under their own copyrights
- contributions I make to this project subsequent to November 2010 are under Google copyright
- nobody should really give a shit about this because a) I freely agreed to this even though Google has a process where I could have asked to retain my own copyright because b) the code is BSD licensed and you can use it however you like regardless of who owns the copyright.
So, I understand why they were hesitant to respond and didn't want to comment on it.
I interviewed to be a Gigster about a year and a half ago, and was accepted, but the more I considered it and saw how gigs were distributed (at that time mostly via Slack messages) I got a bad feeling, like I was a dog in a pack, fighting over meat scraps. It was then I realized the gig economy is not all sunshine and roses. All that to say, this doesn't surprise me, that Gigster doesn't have its workers best interes…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is obviously untrue, as evidenced by the multitude of people here on HN and at PyCon and other conferences who work at Google and routinely work on open source projects. edit: I see - I initially misread parent. Yes, some Googlers are work-for-hire.
They presumably asked for permission first.
I recently learned from a github discussion that if you work for Amazon, Google etc. you are also not allowed to work on any open source projects, even on your free time without their permission.
And HN comment thread thereon: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13142327
This is especially troubling since it appears that Gigster is directly aimed at software development, not generally connecting people with contract jobs. I wonder if they even have a lawyer familiar with software development on-board.
Sure they do -- and that same lawyer approved this agreement (if she didn't draft the whole thing for them) that is weighted entirely in favor of the company and their interests.
I recently learned from a github discussion that if you work for Amazon, Google etc. you are also not allowed to work on any open source projects, even on your free time without their permission.
Yes, basically. For open-source projects where google retains the copyright you don't need special permission (it is part of your job, basically). For personal stuff or where you wish to retain the copyright then you will need it assigned to you.
[0] 'Moreover, some states, including California and Illinois, have laws that limit the effectiveness of assignment-of-inventions agreements where the invention was created outside the inventor's employment with the company.' -- http://www.masudafunai.com/showarticle.aspx?Show=5942
For companies, you all should be very clear on what your contract allows and doesn't allow. That will help everyone and allow folks to self select away from you if they need or want to.
I understand the motivation of Gigster (own as much of the output of a developer as possible while at the same time pushing as much risk as possible to the developer), but agree that such spooky terms don't help attract talent.
The only way to get rid of these kind of labor unfriendly terms in the current environment is to avoid them like the plague.