I have done substantial work on some software that I plan to continue to develop and improve during the course of my next employment. The contract has something to the effect of
All code created and developed by you prior to and during your employment shall vest and remain the property of the firm
This is paraphrasing, but captures the essential point as I understand it, i.e. code that is relevant to the business and that is continued to be used at the firm will become property of the firm. My question is about protecting work that I have already done. Is open sourcing a software project a valid strategy to prevent a firm from acquiring sole ownership of previous works done by you. To clarify, I understand:
- Work done during the period I am employed by the firm will be owned by the firm
- Extensions to a project done at the firm will be owned by the firm
My main issue is related to the firm seizing sole ownership of works done prior to joining the company.