Re: [DotGNU]Copyright waivers for developers?

[tony stanco]

>> On Sun, Aug 12, 2001 at 03:06:08PM -0400, Barry Fitzgerald wrote:
>> > The employment issue is not an issue at all.  I'm employed - my
employer
>> > doesn't control my life - nor would I let it.
>> >
>> > There's a problem with your assessment in the fact that you're
assessing
>> > all of your work as an agent of your employer.  If you intend on
working
>> > on DotGNU at work, then that's true.  If you work on it at home, you
can
>> > choose to indemnify your employer by stating that you're not acting as
>> > an agent of your employer.  However, if your employer has jurisdiction
>> > over what you do at home, I strongly urge you to reconsider the fact
>> > that they have that power over you.

>> So if I only work on this separate from my employer's equipment,
>> facilities and time, you believe I am ok, and I can sign the
>> copyright waiver as myself.  I don't believe my employer has
>> jurisdiction over what I do when I am not working for them.
>>   o I own my own equipment,
>>   o I pay for my own telecommunication costs,
>>   o I own and manage my own domain and local area network (local to the
>>     5 computers below my desk).
>>   o I manage my own time away from my employer's facility.  In fact,
>>     my wife manages my time, but perhaps that's not relevant to this
>>     discussion.

>Yep, I believe this to be the case - but, let's copy a lawyer on this
>just to be sure.
>
>Tony, what do you think?

You will be surprised what control your employer has over you. You need to
look at your employment agreement and ANYTHING else you signed and to the
company policy manuals that they handed to you when you started work.
Employers generally have lawyers that put this kind of stuff in the fine
print, so you should assume that your employer has rights over what you do
that in any way relates to what you do at work unless you see something that
counters that presumption. Every situation is different and so you have to
look at the facts and circumstances of each case and to the law in the
jurisdiction.

That you use your own equipment or are away from your employer's place of
business mean little by themselves. The governing things are the
jurisdiction's law, and what agreements you have made explicitly or
implicitly with the employer.