HACKER Q&A
📣 eonicx

Code Intellectual Property Release Upon Resigning


I've been the lead software architect at a company for over a decade and contributed majority of the code for the platform they have been using. Obviously the code is owned by the company and I had a clean/amicable separation.

I am working on my own projects now. Although I am carrying no files from my old company, and zero copy-paste engineering, the work I am building looks very similar (as in directory structures, where things are, how work flows in the code). It's like you are used to doing things a certain way - it's hard to change drastically and makes no sense anyhow.

Has any of you experienced a dilemma/anxiety over this, where you are scared your previous company may press claims on the intellectual property? I have even thought of screencasting myself building things from scratch to prove I haven't "stolen code" (half kidding) Am i making this a bigger deal than it is?

  👤 e1g Accepted Answer ✓
You spent a decade developing this knowledge and techniques while on the company's payroll, under the company's direction, and for the company's purpose. This is their IP, and this ownership is almost certainly cemented in your employment contract. If after 10 years of benefiting from, and contributing to, the company's operational and technical knowledge you start working on something that "looks very similar", it is in your best interest to consult a lawyer.

Edit: Before we start sorting what the company does or does not own (e.g. "the company can't own IP for this e2e test harness setup!"), it is useful to ask yourself if 1) you're prepared to defend these points in court 2) you can afford to do so against a corporation, and 3) the ROI of that is justified.

👤 andymoe
If you get successful enough where they care worry about it then. That’s a “good” problem to have.