How to rewrite from scratch a code for which I own the copyright so I can use it on my job without losing the rights to the first version?

Question

Well I don't want to make it open-source! That's the problem. But I do want to use it on my current job. Company did not agree to sign any alternative license with me and told me to rewrite everything from scratch so they will own it. :(

So how can I do it in a safe way so later on the company don't come back to me and say that I am using the code I wrote for them, which will be similar to the first version I wrote and own the copyright, on my personal projects or even on another job?

How would you rewrite a second version of a hash map without making it look like the first version? This sounds kind of hard to me. :(

Answer 1

You need to speak with an attorney who specializes in copyright. That's copyright, not intellectual property. "Intellectual property" is a false combination of patent and copyright, which are two completely separate fields of law.

I'm assuming you're in the United States for the rest of this.

My personal recommendation is that, before you go any farther, you take your current source and do a formal copyright registration on it, including filing a complete copy of your work with the US Copyright Office, just like with a book or a song. (Note: Filing a full copy of the work along with the registration application is required by law for registration.)

Every copyright attorney in the United States will tell you that there is no substitute for a copyright registration certificate. There has been exactly one case* in all of history where the guy with the copyright registration certificate didn't win.

Copyright registration is cheap.

After you have the copyright registration certificate in your hands, then you start doing their rewrite. You can start doing design work, but do not write a single line of their code without first protecting yours.

---

_{* (Specifically, that was the George Harrison "My Sweet Lord" case: although the Beatles did have the copyright registration certificate, the judge ruled that there was no possible way he could have completely independently reinvented the melody and organization from "He's So Fine" (The Chiffons): there HAD to have been copying, even unconsciously.)}

Answer 2

This is a great opportunity to use a pre-existing third-party open source solution, if one exists for your use case. Consider the advantages to both you and your employer:

You

• No need to worry about messy IP.
• You can learn an industry standard framework or library, which is something you can add to your resume.

Your Employer

• No need to worry about messy IP.
• No need to spend money paying an employee to write something from scratch.
• The code is more likely to have been tested by multiple people in multiple environments, meaning it should be more stable and secure.
• If the open source project is well known, it will be easier to bring in other programmers in the future.

Answer 3

First, you should consult an attorney to find out what options you have.

But, a hashmap is a standard collection, if you have made one that has a specific purpose, change the data types it is working with, perhaps, and it will be different, especially if you can have some attributes in one program that isn't in the other.

And, if you sit down with a blank sheet of paper and rewrite the code, I expect it will be different, as you have probably learned some ideas since you wrote your original one.

IP is always tricky as they can't tell you to not use what you have learned, but don't copy from your own projects, just write everything from scratch, and it will help to alleviate these issues, I expect.

But, again, talk with a lawyer.

Answer 4

Use a different language! Re-write your C in Java or vice-versa. That way there is no possibility of long sequences of code looking the same.