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Overall this is a good idea but with too many options to turn ugly fast. You need to carefully examine the situation: For instance at an old job my contract con

Overall this is a good idea but with too many options to turn ugly fast. You need to carefully examine the situation: For instance at an old job my contract contained the following sentence: "all intellectual property and code, developed during or outside working hours, regardless of it's nature or purpose belongs to {COMPANY_NAME}". Somehow if my employer pays me extra for working on personal(albeit open source) projects will make me incredibly suspicious.

908B64B197 5y ago
That's just flat out unenforceable in California.
- maccard 5y ago
  And yet it's still in a contract. Just because it's unenforcable doesn't mean you're not going to have a shit time dragging your employer to court over it.
  - 908B64B197 5y ago
    Just strike it out and get it removed.
    - maccard 5y ago
      And what happens if your employer says "no sorry that's our standard contract"?
      - axegon_ 5y ago
        That's what happened in my case. I signed it regardless because the law in my country makes this worth as much as the paper it's written on but you know... Your options are either to roll with it or move on to the next job.
      - 908B64B197 5y ago
        That's a red flag. Hope the option package is worth it.
vlunkr 5y ago
That's a good point, and also, what a horrendous thing to have in your contract. I wonder if it's even legal for them to claim ownership of unrelated code done outside work hours.
- throwdecro 5y ago
  I actually check the laws in a US State before moving there just to make sure it this type of intellectual property grab is not allowed. By rights any jurisdiction that allows this should have zero people producing intellectual property, but there's so much friction in moving elsewhere for most people that companies can push it and get away with it.
- matheusmoreira 5y ago
  It's not just code either, it's all intellectual property. Can't write a book without the company owning it.

908B64B197 5y ago

That's just flat out unenforceable in California.

maccard 5y ago
And yet it's still in a contract. Just because it's unenforcable doesn't mean you're not going to have a shit time dragging your employer to court over it.
- 908B64B197 5y ago
  Just strike it out and get it removed.
  - maccard 5y ago
    And what happens if your employer says "no sorry that's our standard contract"?
    - axegon_ 5y ago
      That's what happened in my case. I signed it regardless because the law in my country makes this worth as much as the paper it's written on but you know... Your options are either to roll with it or move on to the next job.
    - 908B64B197 5y ago
      That's a red flag. Hope the option package is worth it.

vlunkr 5y ago

That's a good point, and also, what a horrendous thing to have in your contract. I wonder if it's even legal for them to claim ownership of unrelated code done outside work hours.

throwdecro 5y ago
I actually check the laws in a US State before moving there just to make sure it this type of intellectual property grab is not allowed. By rights any jurisdiction that allows this should have zero people producing intellectual property, but there's so much friction in moving elsewhere for most people that companies can push it and get away with it.
matheusmoreira 5y ago
It's not just code either, it's all intellectual property. Can't write a book without the company owning it.