If you work at Google everything you make, even in your spare time, belongs to them. That's how the contracts work, unfortunately.
Or you can ask to retain ownership of your project, but then you don't get to do any of the above. This option is also sometimes (thanks DannyBee for correcting me) not available if your project is considered to be too similar to some critical Google interest. The basic idea is outlined here: https://opensource.google.com/docs/iarc/
Speaking as an IARC committee member, this is not quite correct. We have in fact, approved plenty of stuff that is close to what google is working on. For example, we've approved plenty of search engines. (The overall approval rate is >96% last i looked).
It's not so simple that i can easily draw principled bright lines for you though :)
People, for the most part, very badly misunderstand what california law says. For most large diversified corporations, the corporation will own all of it, because it will "Relate at the time of conception or reduction to practice of the invention to the employer’s business, or actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development of the employer;"
Note that it's completely irrelevant what the employee is doing for them. Also note that most employees rarely have any idea of all the things their employer does.
By numbers, employees lose the vast majority of lawsuits under 2870 in california.
(I believe that the fact that people think it is so great is one of the things that holds us back from making it actually great)
Do you happen to know if this is because only very strong cases materialize?
Most employers have no desire to sue employees, so most of these settle or get ignored, AFAIK.
At least in the case of Google (literally, i have no concept of other Alphabet companies), the only cases i'm aware of where Google has claimed it owned something was when the employee sued Google first.
example: A former employee suing Google over a patent developed while employed by Google, google counterclaims it owns that patent under the IP agreement.
The only way to win is to not have ideas.
You will find the same issue at any large diversified company. Quite literally.
Okay, google makes software and if you make software on your spare time maybe it's reasonable that company does not want to leak IP and thus produces these contracts.
But what about these stupid examples:
- Building a backyard deck for your house - Taking pictures as a hobby - Doing woodworking (e.g. making a chair and a table for your home office) - etc..
So with this contract, Goggle owns my deck, desk, chair and a picture of these items, because I produced them on my spare time? Will horde of lawyers will come to my house and take my deck, desk, chair and picture of those items, because I used them while working remotely and bought tools to build them with the salary they payed me?
Even if those examples are completely rubbish and won't stand in court for Google, it's still absurd idea. You get payed salary for your time and work - that's it! That's where Google's power ends. After hours you go home and it's bullshit that they can own your personal work done on your own freetime at your private property with private tools and your own ideas. If they want to own everything then they should pay hourly average times 24hours , times 365 days per year as a salary, because I am giving all my time and work for them, while I am in contract with them.
EDIT: quote from Google's Personal Projects (IARC) [1]:
> Because Google’s business interests are so wide and varied, this likely applies to any personal project you have. That includes new development on personal projects you created prior to employment at Google.
Well that's just messed up.
"Even if those examples are completely rubbish and won't stand in court for Google, it's still absurd idea. You get payed salary for your time and work - that's it! That's where Google's power ends. After hours you go home and it's bullshit that they can own your personal work done on your own freetime at your private property with private tools and your own ideas. If they want to own everything then they should pay hourly average times 24hours , times 365 days per year as a salary, because I am giving all my time and work for them, while I am in contract with them. "
You are sorely confused about the state of the law in the US. In the US, in most states, it doesn't even have to be written into an employment contract. The employer will simply own the IP, period.
well I am glad I am not working in US then..
Check out the top comment from @grellas here https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2208056
At the end, he mentions that general statements never apply to everybody, and unique situations vary. Additionally, in California the law protects moreso than other states.
but grellas doesn't actually disagree with me anywhere?
FWIW: I'm also an IP attorney, and among other things, have been doing "invention assignment" work for quite a while. I'm very familiar with the employment law situation in california, and this area in particular.
" Additionally, in California the law protects moreso than other states."
I didn't say it didn't? I said it's not as good as people seem to think
There is an internal process to have google release any copyright they may hold on any project you produce on your own time without using corp resources. All it requires is going through a standard and a (mostly) boilerplate legal review.