6 Aug
2009
6 Aug
'09
8:15 a.m.
drew Roberts wrote:
On Sunday 02 August 2009 09:41:57 Arnold Krille
wrote:
This is a well known problem. If it's not part of the contract and by
standard contracts it isn't, you have the copyright to what you make not
for your employer.
It might be that you program something, not under the GPL, not open
source, that has the same function as what you programmed for your employer.
1. Maybe you used the same routines, but nobody can know this.
2. Maybe you were writing a compete new program.
I worked as engineer for Brauner some years ago, am I allowed to develop
and distribute a microphone today by all the knowledge I've got from the
time I worked for Brauner?
I guess the answers will differ to the countries we are living in.
Brauner don't pay me any more, I don't got a compensation to be quiet
and in Germany many people are unemployed. So I'm allowed to do so.
I only see a problem for a coder who do program 2 applications doing the
same, one for his employer and the other under the GPL or what ever
licences. I guess this is something a court needs to decide by asking
programming experts ;).
Standard contracts for employees include that the
copyrights of their
productive work during company time is property of the company. And that
includes software...
Arnold
OK, but what about the copyrights of their non productive work during company
time?
Or is all copyrightable work done on company time legally deemed to be
*productive* ??? ~;-)
all the best,
drew