Re: Helping your former company

[xdg]

Recently I left a startup I was working for to move to a large software company.

In addition to the good advice others have already given, let me also encourage you to check the terms of your current employment for potential conflicts. Some employment agreements stipulate that any code you produce -- even on your own time -- is intellectual property that belongs to the company. You also want to avoid getting into legal trouble with your current employer in helping out the old one.

[eric256]

How could they claim code you do on your own time? Thats ridiculous. Could they then claim any art or music you produce at home while working for them? While it might be in the contract I doubt it would stand up in court. I suppose if your salaried AND the code in question directly related to your employment then they might have a case, but it seems any company with that clause should probably be steered clear of.

[xdg]

Read Professional Employees and Works for Hire.

[eric256]

Law is such a painfull thing because you never know who to beleive. ;) A quick search yeiled this resource which actualy shows that inventions created using work resources but not as the actualy goal of your employment can be claimed by the inventory. Though the inventor has to give the employer non-exclusive rights to *use* the invention. Logicaly it would seem the same would apply to software. Though I will admit logic and law arn't always the best of pals and Softare and invention arn't realy two terms that mix either. Then this article seems to support that same view as well. The inventor retains rights but the employeer gets the rights to manufacture and sell it without paying royalties. It is begining to seem like we need an IP Agent just to do any sort of creative work anywhere. ;)