But still, you don't own it, the company you're working
for does..  Anyway, *much more important*, make sure that
your employment agreements SAY that what you do on your time
is yours!  A number of states, North Carolina being a
wonderful example, have some backwards-ass laws that say
anything you do in your off time is also owned by your
employer.  Even unrelated stuff can fall under this
sometimes, but especially things like 'you work for xxx
consulting firm'.  'YOU design for yourself xxx widget and
start selling them yourself at 1k per month'.  'XXX' finds
out about it, and takes you to court.  'XXX' WILL win
ownership of your product in this state!  I have a friend
who has been through this.
Alan


Chip Weller wrote:

> This is not entirely true. My understanding is as an individual what you
> say is true, but if you are an employee of a consulting company (as I
> am) then the copyright on your code automatically goes to your company.
> As your wrote it and your company is paying you to do that, it is a
> "work made for hire" for your company, not the client. Your company can
> then provide a exclusive or non-exclusive license for that copyrighted
> work to your client, but the client cannot directly own the copyright,
> unless they are paying you (as an individual) directly.
>
> Chip Weller