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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!hao!ward
From: ward@hao.UUCP (Mike Ward)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Company/Employee rights to home developed MAC software
Message-ID: <1521@hao.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 7-May-85 08:48:05 EDT
Article-I.D.: hao.1521
Posted: Tue May  7 08:48:05 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 10-May-85 08:25:16 EDT
References: <2024@decwrl.UUCP>
Organization: High Altitude Obs./NCAR, Boulder CO
Lines: 16

> 
>      I work for Digital Equip. Corp. as a software engineer. I have been
> told by my manager, who has consulted with the DEC's legal department, that
> DEC owns all software that I develop at home on my MAC.

Unless you specifically signed an agreement giving away your
rights to software you develop on your own time, DEC does not
own it.  Even if you did sign such an agreement, it probably
has no legal standing (contracts we don't sign seem to be worth
a lot more than contracts we do).  I seem to remember reading
about several cases where agreements like this have been tossed
out.  Of course there's the moral issue, if you freely agreed.

All of the above must be considered in the light of the hassle
of trying to convince a major corporation that you are not its
slave.