Freeing my code... need some guidance

[Ben Tilly]

On Sun, Jan 11, 2009 at 9:02 AM, David Woolley
<forums at david-woolley.me.uk> wrote:
> Simon wrote:
>>
>> I currently have all rights, I have never shared this code.  The only
>
> That would be unusual for someone employed as a programmer in the UK and
> most parts of the USA.

Simon has said that he is employed as a salesman, not a programmer.
Depending on details (eg how closely the code relates to what his
employer does) and his jurisdiction, this fact *might* give him
copyright over code developed on his own, even when a programmer in
the same position would not have copyright.

An example of this in reverse is that if I am a programmer in New York
State and I write a novel at home, I will own copyright to that.  But
if I write a program, even if it has nothing to do with what my
employer does, that would belong to my employer.

(This is part of the reason that I now choose to live in California
where what I do in my own time belongs to me and can't be signed away.
 I firmly believe that this fact is a key factor in the success of
Silicon Valley.)

Cheers,
Ben