I told my boss I had an idea for a program that could improve efficiency across much of the business, and he let me build it on company time. In the long term, he wanted to be able to sell it to other companies. However, the program never got implemented due to personnel mismanagement, and I’d rather be able to post it on my github under a free licence so I can use it as a resume item, and at least someone would have the chance to actually use it. It’s all still in my head, and I could write it again if I wanted. If I do, is it illegal to publish it? What if I write it in a different language? Do I need to change the variable names? I did plenty of research and planning on company time to build it, and it’s not like I can research it again, it’s all still in my head.
In many countries, code written on company time, with company hardware and as part of the job will automatically assign copyright to the company. It doesn’t need an explicit clause but many companies add it anyway.
This is different from the company owning every piece of code you write, which I don’t condone. But in this particular case OP has a clear conflict of interest.
Nah, what they’re referring to is about stuff created in your own time, on your own kit. It’s absolutely bullshit but somehow legal.