Which License Should I Use?

[Paul Rubin]

"mojosam" <nk67v8o02 at sneakemail.com> writes:
> I will be doing the bulk of the coding on my own time, because I need
> to be able to take these tools with me when I change employers.
> However, I'm sure that in the course of using these tools, I will need
> to spend time on the job debugging or tweaking them.  I do not want my
> current employer to have any claim on my code in any way.  Usually if
> you program on company time, that makes what you do a "work for hire".
> I can't contaminate my code like that.

Whether your employer has claim to stuff you do on your own time
depends intricately on the law in your state.  California is much
different from New York, for example.  The platitudes you hear in this
thread about it are pretty useless.  "Employer" means something
specific: are you paid on W2's?  If not, maybe you have a "client" or
"customer" rather than an "employer" and the entire picture is
different.  When something is work for hire is also intricate.  Just
because you're being paid by someone else to write something doesn't
always make it a work for hire, even if you're an employee.  There are
no simple universal answers.

To get these questions answered you really have to consult a legal
adviser IN YOUR STATE.  And you should explain at the very beginning
to your client/customer/employer what you're doing and what rights you
want to hold on to, and negotiate a written agreement.  Don't take the
attitude of "in what ways can I make sure that surprises I spring on
the client get resolved in my favor if there's a dispute".  Instead,
do everything you can to avoid disputes and surprises.  That means get
the client need to agree in advance, in writing, to what happens with
what.  Every agreement I've signed in the past few years has included
a release rights (from me to the employer) and a list of exceptions as
part of the boilerplate.