Re: [Fsfe-uk] Waiver of IP rights for Free Software

[sam.liddicott]

I don't have a waiver but I never heard of a contractor needing one.

Surely by definition you do work all over the place and for all kinds of
people and may even maintain old contracts at the weekend?

How can they claim any work other than what they contracted you to do? 

How do they even have any rights over other work to wavie?

In the past when I have been a contractor I've informed companies that they
will have non-exclusive rights in some libraries developed independantly of
their work and non-exlcusive rights to enhancements made to such libraries
for them, and that I may retain ownership. They can pay more if they want to
keep ownershipl. I also inform them that some parts my be software deveoperd
by 3rd parties in which they may have non-exclusive rights  blah blah

Sam 
>Fri Oct 24 2008  5:46:03 pm BST from Chris Croughton to address@hidden 
>Subject: [Fsfe-uk] Waiver of IP rights for Free Software
>
>I need the company for whom I will be working to sign a waiver of their
>rights in my Free Software development.  There used to be such a thing
>on the FSF site, however the only reference to it I can find is a
>message from RMS saying that he thought it was there but he can't find
>it!
>
>Can anyone point me to such a waiver, or send me a copy?
>
>The points are:
>
>  I will be working as contractor for a company which asserts its IP
>  rights.
>
>  They only really need those rights in their own area.
>
>  It is not clear from the contract whether they actually try to claim
>  ownership of what I do in my own time (in one place it implies that
>  they don't, and in another it can be interpreted that they do).
>
>  I want a waiver which they can sign saying that any work I do on Free
>  Software projects is mine, not theirs.
>
>(I'm not getting into the "you should only work for companies writing
>Free Software" -- suffice it to say that (a) I would love to and (b) my
>continued existence implies havng to eat and pay bills.)
>
>Thanks,
>
>Chris C
>
>
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