You should have signed an intellectual property agreement when you were hired. It details you rights in this regard. As with all legal matters, you are advised to seek counsel from a professional.
Matt Liotta President & CEO Montara Software, Inc. http://www.montarasoftware.com/ V: 415-577-8070 F: 415-341-8906 P: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2002 9:02 AM > To: CF-Talk > Subject: Intellectual property (was RE: programmer vs. developer) > > <quote> > "Finally, I think this expectation that most of us have about being a > programmer 24/7 demonstrates the relative immaturity of our field; after > all, it really should be just like any other job, instead of being a hobby > that you happen to get paid for. Sure, it's nice to enjoy your work, but > work is just one part of the life of a well-rounded person." > > Dave Watts, CTO, Fig Leaf Software > </quote> > > Dave, > > Curious question for you. To those of us that enjoy programming as a > hobby and actually do research on our own outside of work time. How does > intellectual property fit into this. The reason why I bring this up is > because well, due to the immaturity of most comapnies wanting their > developers to work 24/7, basically anything I concieve of is by right of > employment contract, theirs. In their eyes, a salaried employee is > something akin to a ... well... a wageslave. > > Take the little company I work for. They'd love it if I worked for them > 24/7. The partners would get a kick out of it, especially if they could > purchase another SUV within a few months. However, I have been hesitant > to hand over anything, but at times, I've had no choice due to the lack of > time they give me for a particular project. My methodology for example. > The project manager basically scoped out what he felt my co-worker and I > were developing, asked me to read this over and ... published it on the > intranet. At the same time, I'm thinking to myself, why did I just do > that? What did I gain from it? I got no recognition for it, I got > nothing. So, if I were to ever break away from my current job, I'd be > pretty screwed if they found out that I'm still using 'my' so called > methodology for future clients. > > I'm very concerned about the future and maturity level of the so called > "internet/development" companies out there. How does figleaf handle > creative ideas like this? > > Case in point, Branden Hall. I'm sure he cranks out actionscripting code > all day long and posts code left and right and handles what he can to help > people out. How does Figleaf distinguish between his intellectual > property and commercial value? Does Branden run every little script of > code over to someone at figleaf and ask for permission to release it? If > Figleaf uses his code that he wrote on his time, does he get compensated? > recognized? Does Figleaf automatically by default suck in his code into > their intellectual property library because it was used that one time? > > Just curious, > ~Todd > > -- > ============================================================ > Todd Rafferty ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) - http://www.web-rat.com/ | > Team Macromedia Volunteer for ColdFusion | > http://www.macromedia.com/support/forums/team_macromedia/ | > http://www.flashCFM.com/ - webRat (Moderator) | > http://www.ultrashock.com/ - webRat (Back-end Moderator) | > ============================================================ > > ______________________________________________________________________ Get the mailserver that powers this list at http://www.coolfusion.com FAQ: http://www.thenetprofits.co.uk/coldfusion/faq Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/index.cfm?sidebar=lists
