[taking_counsel]

Thanks. Are you aiming for any specific type of employers? SME? Big companies? Start-ups? Every company I've come across say (paraphrasing):

* "It's boilerplate; we can't change it!"

* "We never enforce it, do what you want."

* "Do what you want, who's gonna know?!"

* or some blanket legal statement: "Either your projects fall outside the scope of the clause, in which case you don't need to worry about said clauses, or they fall within the scope of the clause, in which case we are not wavering anything. And finally, its up to you, not us, to judge whether the project falls inside or out of said clause."

I've yet to come across a UK tech company (or R&D company) that has ever taken my concerns seriously. It's starting to bum me out. I don't want to work on releasable products knowing deep down that I might not actually own them.

[thorin]

If you're in the UK and you're really making something in your spare time that might be worth anywhere near as much as your paid income you should really be contracting/self employed. The company will be wondering why you aren't completely focused on their work as generally managers won't understand why people are doing their work as a hobby as well as having a free time job. I do know a couple of employees who added exemptions to their contracts, but if your aspiration is really to be earning from your own projects you need to be considering contracting.