Which License Should I Use?

[Robert Kern]

mojosam wrote:

> I will be doing the bulk of the coding on my own time, because I need
> to be able to take these tools with me when I change employers.
> However, I'm sure that in the course of using these tools, I will need
> to spend time on the job debugging or tweaking them.  I do not want my
> current employer to have any claim on my code in any way.  Usually if
> you program on company time, that makes what you do a "work for hire".
> I can't contaminate my code like that.  Does that mean the GPL is the
> strongest defense in this situation?

Not at all. The code that you write on your employer's time probably
belongs to the employer (you'll need to read your contract and the
relevant state law or talk to a competent lawyer in your area for full
details). Just because you added that code to a GPLed project doesn't
mean that the added code would be released under the GPL. If your
employer had an interest in keeping you from using it after you left
them, they simply wouldn't release the code at all. They wouldn't be
able to turn it into a proprietary project using your GPLed code, but
they could prevent you from taking the added code with you.

Also, the employer may still own the copyright on software that you
write on your own time if it substantially relates to your job (as it
seems it does). Again, you will have to read your contract and the
relevant state law or possibly talk to a lawyer to find out. I am not
such a lawyer, and, of course, none of this is legal advice.

That said, assuming that you can release the code under an open source
license and given your lack of an agenda, the BSD license seems
appropriate. You may also want to read this Licensing HOWTO:

  http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/Licensing-HOWTO.html

It's a draft, but it contains useful information. Also, Larry Rosen's
book _Open Source Licensing_ is quite helpful (and free!).

  http://rosenlaw.com/oslbook.htm

-- 
Robert Kern
robert.kern at gmail.com

"In the fields of hell where the grass grows high
 Are the graves of dreams allowed to die."
  -- Richard Harter