(IANAL, but I married one...) Actually, in most states exactly the opposite is true: as a contractor all your work is considered work-for-higher unless you have a contract explicitly stating otherwise! You are hired for your work, not to buy a product - if you want to retain ownership, then you'd better not get paid hourly for the work; just for the product.
As an *employee*, at least in California, it works like this:
Anything you develop on company time, materials, equipment, directly derivative, etc. automatically belongs to company, generally even if you have a contract stating otherwise.
Anything you develop outside of that, **but related to the company's business** ONLY belongs to the company if you have a contract stating so.
Anything you develop outside of that, **unrelated to the company's busniess**, NEVER belong to the company **EVEN IF** if you signed a contract otherwise - such a contract is considered unenforceable/inequitable...
Tracy Hall
Lead Dreamer
Dreams and Logic
Slashdot Mirror
(IANAL, but I married one...) Actually, in most states exactly the opposite is true: as a contractor all your work is considered work-for-higher unless you have a contract explicitly stating otherwise! You are hired for your work, not to buy a product - if you want to retain ownership, then you'd better not get paid hourly for the work; just for the product. As an *employee*, at least in California, it works like this: Anything you develop on company time, materials, equipment, directly derivative, etc. automatically belongs to company, generally even if you have a contract stating otherwise. Anything you develop outside of that, **but related to the company's business** ONLY belongs to the company if you have a contract stating so. Anything you develop outside of that, **unrelated to the company's busniess**, NEVER belong to the company **EVEN IF** if you signed a contract otherwise - such a contract is considered unenforceable/inequitable... Tracy Hall Lead Dreamer Dreams and Logic