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> Google is pretty strict about side projects done by its employees; its IP release claims ownership over anything IANAL nor do I play one on TV but I don't kn

by nadams 11y ago

> Google is pretty strict about side projects done by its employees; its IP release claims ownership over anything IANAL nor do I play one on TV but I don't know if I actually believe that is legal - and if it is then it's a huge legal nightmare. Take this project for example[1]. He worked on it before he was an employee of Google and after - does that mean Google automatically gets copyright over the project? What about after he leaves Google? What about if he never touched it while working at Google - does Google still get automatic copyright over it? [1] https://github.com/snapframework/snap-server/commit/5e4850d4cb74c75e706df509b90befc95263746a https://github.com/snapframework/snap-server/commit/5e4850d4...

nostrademons 11y ago
Google gets copyright over any code contributed during the duration of your employment - that's what happened in the project you link to. If he doesn't touch it while working at Google, there is no such code. You're supposed to disclaim any open-source projects you wrote before Google employment - I did, and then didn't work on them while employed. It is somewhat debatable whether this provision would stand up in court, but do you really want to fight a court battle with Google's legal team?
harryjo 11y ago
Greg was not in CA, and snap is open source, so this example is a non-issue and the author didn't care.
- nadams 11y ago
  > snap is open source But Google now lays claim over its copyright which gives them the right to sell it or take it down completely. But thankfully - if you have an old version - they can't retroactively change the license. However - that won't stop Google from sending DMCA takedowns if it gets big enough. > so this example is a non-issue It's a huge issue - when people and companies don't even understand the terms of the GPL [1] copyright and licenses could make a huge impact. Yes - someone can fork it and call it pans and make all sorts of awesome changes - but that's horrible for software development. Now there are 2 different versions with different features - I would rather one project that completely works than 2 similar projects that kind of works. > the author didn't care The other contributors did - and that's equally important. I would not want to piss off the people who are contributing code to my project. Once other people start contributing code - a good open source project should respect the opinions and comments of the community. [1] https://github.com/github/dmca/commit/85c03a289fe56c67636ed6409011bc76964272a4 https://github.com/github/dmca/commit/85c03a289fe56c67636ed6...

by nadams 11y ago

nostrademons 11y ago

Google gets copyright over any code contributed during the duration of your employment - that's what happened in the project you link to. If he doesn't touch it while working at Google, there is no such code. You're supposed to disclaim any open-source projects you wrote before Google employment - I did, and then didn't work on them while employed. It is somewhat debatable whether this provision would stand up in court, but do you really want to fight a court battle with Google's legal team?

harryjo 11y ago

Greg was not in CA, and snap is open source, so this example is a non-issue and the author didn't care.

nadams 11y ago
> snap is open source But Google now lays claim over its copyright which gives them the right to sell it or take it down completely. But thankfully - if you have an old version - they can't retroactively change the license. However - that won't stop Google from sending DMCA takedowns if it gets big enough. > so this example is a non-issue It's a huge issue - when people and companies don't even understand the terms of the GPL [1] copyright and licenses could make a huge impact. Yes - someone can fork it and call it pans and make all sorts of awesome changes - but that's horrible for software development. Now there are 2 different versions with different features - I would rather one project that completely works than 2 similar projects that kind of works. > the author didn't care The other contributors did - and that's equally important. I would not want to piss off the people who are contributing code to my project. Once other people start contributing code - a good open source project should respect the opinions and comments of the community. [1] https://github.com/github/dmca/commit/85c03a289fe56c67636ed6409011bc76964272a4 https://github.com/github/dmca/commit/85c03a289fe56c67636ed6...