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GitHub lets staff own IP developed for personal projects using company resources

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Re: GitHub lets staff own IP developed for personal projects using company resources

#331

Post by braythwayt »

xrd wrote: post #310
braythwayt wrote: post #276

Once upon a time, I was looking for a job, in straightened circumstances. I found a so-so match, and since I was in danger of missing a mortgage payment, I decided to accept their offer. Pragmatism and all that. Well, I went in and picked up the documents, and told them I needed to read them before signing and returning them to the company. I looked at the IP clause, and it said the company owned anything and everyth…

Man, thank you for being courageous. Your writing has changed my life and choosing differently in that moment would have restricted my life.

Thank you for saying so. It means a lot to me to hear from people like you.

But remember... I may have pointed the way, but you walked your path :-)

Re: GitHub lets staff own IP developed for personal projects using company resources

#332

Post by eitally »

dotnetisnotdead wrote: post #246
strictnein wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every time I buy or sell a home, I'm very thankful that one of my friends has a realtor's license. None of that 7% BS. None of the dumb games they play. How it came about that the services of two realtors was worth $35k on a $500k home is beyond me. Especially in this day and age, where we all just look online and tell our realtors what houses we want to go to. Half the work they used to do is now done by the client.

I would have to disagree. Yes, much of what they do as far as finding houses can be done online these days, but there are many edge cases where a (good) realtor can save you. When I first purchased a home my credit history was.. interesting. The value the realtor provided was putting me in touch with the right grants, forms, etc and ways to build and fix my credit. They helped me not get scammed with a high interest…

Not arguing against the value, but why should the seller have to pay for you to receive this service?

Re: GitHub lets staff own IP developed for personal projects using company resources

#333

Post by myelin »

rrdharan wrote: post #184
BuuQu9hu wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your employer, of course, is Google; I know this from my own tussles with Google's OSPO, which exists primarily to ensure that engineers don't have lives outside of Google.

[Disclaimer: I work at Google.] I see no conclusive evidence in the parent comment that proves it's Google. I would've actually guessed Apple. My understanding is that Google actually has a reasonable process for this, and that people have taken advantage of it to start or contribute to projects in a personal capacity.

I work at Google, and can confirm that the process for open source contributions (as long as you're okay with assigning copyright for the work to Google) isn't particularly onerous in most cases. You just have to verify that the project has a valid open source license, and send in a copy of your first three commits.

Re: GitHub lets staff own IP developed for personal projects using company resources

#334

Post by gingerbread-man »

serg_chernata wrote: post #281
braythwayt wrote: post #276

Once upon a time, I was looking for a job, in straightened circumstances. I found a so-so match, and since I was in danger of missing a mortgage payment, I decided to accept their offer. Pragmatism and all that. Well, I went in and picked up the documents, and told them I needed to read them before signing and returning them to the company. I looked at the IP clause, and it said the company owned anything and everyth…

> Now that you mention it, I'm not sure I want to employ someone who uses their creative energy for anything except the company's business. I don't think I'll ever understand that attitude. If you're a founder, the business just may be the work of your life. To expect the same level of dedication and obsession from your employees is utterly obscene. If you're lucky enough to find someone who genuinely feels that way,…

Put less brusquely, though, it sounds like what most early-stage startups (fairly) expect. At that stage, working long hours is usually part of the deal, and you're probably getting big equity and a substantial chunk of their last round. It would be a little weird if you had hours of free time for personal hacking after that.

Re: GitHub lets staff own IP developed for personal projects using company resources

#335

Post by kbenson »

foota wrote: post #321
kbenson wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> he buyer's agent should be a flat negotiated fee, maybe an hourly rate. A fee sounds good, an hourly rate seems to incentivize the wrong behavior (as does a percentage of the sale price).

A fee would incentivize the realtor to be done as quick as possible.

Well, so does the current scheme of a percentage, offset only by whatever desire there is to find a more expensive house you're willing to buy so they can get more money, which you hope isn't a large factor in their reasoning.

Re: GitHub lets staff own IP developed for personal projects using company resources

#336

Post by ken47 »

If I were on the job market, this would be a big positive influence on my decision to apply. It's not so much a matter of whether I would take advantage of this perk or not. It's a very good reflection on the management's attitude towards its employees.

Re: GitHub lets staff own IP developed for personal projects using company resources

#337

Post by mindcrime »

braythwayt wrote: post #276

Once upon a time, I was looking for a job, in straightened circumstances. I found a so-so match, and since I was in danger of missing a mortgage payment, I decided to accept their offer. Pragmatism and all that. Well, I went in and picked up the documents, and told them I needed to read them before signing and returning them to the company. I looked at the IP clause, and it said the company owned anything and everyth…

My response to that would be something along the lines of:

> "Fine, a standard salary is based on an assumption of working ~40 hours per week. You want me to work 168 hours per week. That, with factoring in opportunity cost, means my salary demand for that scenario is $6,000,000.00 / year. Sign here."

Re: GitHub lets staff own IP developed for personal projects using company resources

#338

Post by amyjess »

abraham_s wrote: post #133
amyjess wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Now imagine you are getting twice as much after taxes for the same work but without benefits. No, I wouldn't. I value stability and simplicity in my life, and I will gladly eschew higher pay for a more traditional lifestyle. I'm a conservative suburbanite with no ambition, and I'm proud of it. On top of that, non-employer insurance is terrible. In some states, you actually cannot get a PPO unless you're on an emplo…

"(I refuse to get an HMO for moral reasons)" Can you elaborate on this?

HMOs mandate that Primary Care Physicians act as gatekeepers, and their job is to control how and when you seek the services of other doctors.

Medical gatekeeping is a violation of the fundamental human right to body autonomy.

Re: GitHub lets staff own IP developed for personal projects using company resources

#339

Post by joncampbelldev »

protonfish wrote: post #324
turc1656 wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Now that you mention it, I'm not sure I want to employ someone who uses their creative energy for anything except the company's business." Wow. That statement alone tells you everything you need to know about that person and what kind of manager they are. The fact that it was the founder is just...wow. Since it was the founder, if I was in your shoes I would have asked this fool if they took that same approach when…

Was it Joel Spolsky? https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2016/12/09/developers-side-pr...

Am I misunderstanding or are you implying that Joel would disapprove of side projects?

Re: GitHub lets staff own IP developed for personal projects using company resources

#340

Post by protonfish »

joncampbelldev wrote: post #339
protonfish wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was it Joel Spolsky? https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2016/12/09/developers-side-pr...

Am I misunderstanding or are you implying that Joel would disapprove of side projects?

If you read is blog post I think it's pretty clear he thinks its fair to own all employee's side projects.
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