[nakkiel]

IP assignment is the only thing I really negotiate when I take on a new position. I had one company back-pedal as they were trying to change their terms from nothing to we own anything you make, any time. I had the CEO/CTO of another company write in plain English that anything done in my free time and without using company-owned facilities/hardware was my own IP (their legal bla-bla was unclear).

In the first case, the corrected terms got applied to everybody in the company but in the second, I believe I'm the only one who is protected thank to that written note.

I always use the analogy of an English teacher writing a book on his spare time. How he would actually be encouraged to do so, weighting how this would reflect nicely on the school he works at etc..

[colanderman]

> I always use the analogy of an English teacher writing a book on his spare time. How he would actually be encouraged to do so, weighting how this would reflect nicely on the school he works at etc..

I think limiting IP ownership to right of first refusal is important for the same reasons. If I'm guaranteed that either the company will use the IP I developed, and I will (presumably) be rewarded for it or at least be able to include it on my resumé, or that I can own the IP myself, it is worthwhile to me to work on projects in my spare time.

However, without that guarantee, it's entirely likely that works I produce which are significant to me but not to my company will end up gathering dust on a shelf. Hence I'm disincentivized to work on such (potentially enriching) spare-time projects.