Jaroslaw Rafa wrote:
Darren Reed napisal(a):
I find it absurd that you can't use your spare time for your own stuff.
Does it mean that if you write 2 lines of code at 2:00am in your
house, that is still Oracle's IP???
It's madness!
As long as it relates to something in which they have business
interests, then yes.
For example, if I made a patch to the Linux kernel to fix a bug at home,
Oracle would own that IP (consider Oracle Enterprise Linux) even though
I don't work on OEL. On the other hand, if I were to patch FreeBSD for a
similar reason, Oracle would still own that because I would be working
on an "operating system" and Oracle is in the business of manufacturing
"operating systems" (Solaris & OEL.)
My sincere apologies to you because of that.
I wonder whether a company has any legal right at all to restrict the
freedom of their employees in such a way?
After all, you are an employee during your working hours only. It is clear
that what you do *as a part of your job* belongs to the employer. But after
you finish that, you are a free man and whatever you do is your thing only.
I can't see any legal ground for your employer to claim the ownership of
whathever you do in your free time. Essentially speaking, such taking the
ownership of your private work out from you is simply - theft.
It is the standard employment contract that you sign that requires you to
agree to give them ownership of any intellectual property that you might
develop whilst that contract is being executed (i.e you're employed by
them), regardless of where or whence you are.
California law restricts this to being related to their business interests,
such that if I invented a new engine for a car or developed a cure for
the common cold on my own time, Oracle would have no rights to that.
Darren
