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by tremon 1392 days ago
It's not imaginary, it's called copyright. In many jurisdictions (including the US, FAFAIK) your employer retains the copyright of things you produce in your free time that fall within your job description (e.g. if you might have done the same thing on company time).

So if you have a side gig that matches your day job and your work output is covered by copyright: yes, you need your employer's sign-off.
2 comments
pc86 1391 days ago
The US is not a single jurisdiction, there are at least 50 with regards to employment law. I've worked in several and at no point has any employer held any copyright to things I product in my free time.

> if you have a side gig that matches your day job

Well this is competition, isn't it? That's completely different.

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freeone3000 1391 days ago
This is illegal in Washington State and California, explicitly, and is not the default by far. Certain employers (such as Facebook) demand this, but, it's certainly not the default state of affairs!
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