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I agree with that but there's a big problem here which is that you can get scammed big time by your employer.

If any of your side projects get big, depending on the contract your employer might be able to claim ownership of it.

If you're doing side projects despite those kind of contracts, you're effectively trusting your employer to be nice when they have legal right to not be. This isn't a great position to be in.

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For sure ask for those clauses to be removed, but there are plenty of places that simply won't remove them.

Your employer is not omniscient. To claim ownership of your side project they first need to know it exists. How will they come to know it exists? Are they even looking for employee side projects?

Your employer is also not omnipotent. It needs to be worth someone's time and energy to come after your side project. Now if it's wildly successful, or competing with your employer's product, or you have internal enemies, that's one thing. But most side projects just aren't worth going after.

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