Comment on Ask HN:Do my company own IP when I work on my personal app in freetime?Comments−dctoedt14yIn 2010 I posted a flow chart, with footnotes, to explain when an employer owns an employee invention and when it merely has shop rights -- see http://www.techlawnotes.com/diagramming-a-legal-issue-who-ow...For copyrighted works: In the U.S., anything done "within the scope of employment" (which can be a fact-intensive question) is considered to be a "work made for hire," with the employer as the "author" and thus as the owner.
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In 2010 I posted a flow chart, with footnotes, to explain when an employer owns an employee invention and when it merely has shop rights -- see http://www.techlawnotes.com/diagramming-a-legal-issue-who-ow...
For copyrighted works: In the U.S., anything done "within the scope of employment" (which can be a fact-intensive question) is considered to be a "work made for hire," with the employer as the "author" and thus as the owner.