Can Employer Usurp Copyright On GPL-Derived Work?

An anonymous reader writes "I am a recent graduate, and I've been working on my own on a project that uses GPL-licensed libraries. Later a university department hired me, on a part-time basis, to develop this project into a solution that they needed. The project's size increased over time and soliciting help from the open source community seemed like the obvious thing to do. However, when I suggested this, my boss was not interested, and it was made clear to me that the department's position was that copyright of the whole thing belonged to them. Indeed, by default work created for an employer belongs to the employer, so I may have gotten myself in the same trap discussed here years ago. Even though I want to release my code to the public I don't know whether I have the legal right to do so. I did start the project on my own. And, since no written or verbal agreement was ever made to transfer copyright over to my employer, I question whether they can claim that they now own the extended version of the project. Also, the whole project relies on GPL libraries, and without those libraries it would be useless. Can they still claim copyright and prevent me from publishing the source code even though it is derived from GPL software?" Some early commenters on the submission pointed out that it matters whether the libraries were licensed under the LGPL vs. the GPL.

Comments

I can not believe the absurdities mentioned on /.

[Hurricane78]

[Disclaimer: This is not a troll or a flame. I’m just really shocked.]

I can not believe the utter absurdities mentioned on Slashdot.
Most comments seem to say something like “The code belongs to $someone”.
Now read that again: The code belongs to...?? Code belongs??

What the hell?
It feels like the FUD and propaganda of the **AA have completely succeeded in brainwashing people that you could actually own information. What an absurd concept!
How can you possess something that can not be stolen? How the hell do you own something, that you can not control? I mean, not ever! If you pass it one, your control is gone. If not, you can not prove its existence. It is not a physical object. You can’t possess it. You can own the container. Or offer the service that produces it. But that’s something different. All the premises required for something to be ownable, are not fulfilled for information.

It just makes so sense. How can grown up people with a healthy sense of reality believe such fantasies?
I know that all humans start believing something, when they just hear it often enough. That’s kind of a side-effect of us being social beings. But come on. This is like believing in Santa. Or God. Or saying that you own happiness. Or the color magenta. You know: Things that would have gotten you locked away 100 years ago, and certainly require therapy nowadays.

I’m sad. Because it feels like they have won, and we are to blame, because we the experts — of all people — bought into their lies. We were supposed to be the last defense. Am I now really standing alone??
Oh well. At least they have to walk over my dead body before I give up.