As a UK/EU citizen, this has always been my understanding of the law, and it's not strange to me. I might violate US patent law (which is an increasing concern

As a UK/EU citizen, this has always been my understanding of the law, and it's not strange to me. I might violate US patent law (which is an increasing concern given the apparent freedom of extradition), but I'm not violating UK law. There is copyright over my writing (here, lines of code), but typically not over my idea.