Hacker News Reader

Comment by andi999 | Hacker News Reader

For me there is legal uncertainty if my work contract (with the applicable laws) actually allow me to contribute. I do not want to ask my boss for permission nor do I want to pay a lawyer. What would really help is an overview with if the general legaslative framework of a country with the common work contracts (for software devs) permit open source contributions. Well maybe my proble is unique, but maybe more ppl would just test the waters if it were clear.

View on HN

From what I'm aware of, the cases to watch out for are companies that have an "all your base are belong to us" clause in their contract. Typically it is worded as "any invention, innovation or idea conceived solely by you or jointly with others at any time during your course of employment, and that relate to any current or future business activities of the employer". Of course I don't know how much such as broadly sweeping agreement can hold up in court, but apparently there are some companies (Google comes to mind) that have a department which will review their employee open source contributions and give them the green light (or not) to contribute.

For future employment, I always watch out for that clause. And then I ask questions such as "Does this include any volunteer work I do for charities, such as help them with their web site setup?"

Thanks. Such clauses seem pretty standard here. Also a lot of contracts are 'unionized' (don't know the right term) so there is zero room for negotiation.

Edit: also the google approval prevents tinkering (which for me is the prerequisite of hobby engagement)

> so there is zero room for negotiation

My understanding is there is still room for clarification.

E.g. If you ask "This doesn't apply to me helping charities in my spare time though right?" and they say it doesn't, then that's binding.

Similarly clarifying that open source projects that aren't related to the product they sell aren't covered.

Ambiguity = flexibility

Local laws may win over whatever is written in the contract. In some places the creative work you do on your free time and your own computer is yours. In other countries that's not the case. In my experience doing creative work across multiple countries you should check with your employer and get written approval to contribute to open source in your free time (or best case, during work times too)

Reply on news.ycombinator.com