

Ask HN: Are side projects allowed at IBM? - jimmysdown

I am starting the process of interviewing for a position at IBM, and was wondering what corp policy is about side projects.  I have a website I&#x27;m building on my own time, and I would not like to have to give that up completely.  I don&#x27;t have any reason to believe the site would be in competition with any IBM business unit.  Is there a company-wide policy on this, or is it on a per-case basis?  Thanks for any input.
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arink
I no longer work there, but ~5 years ago you had to get approval per project.
I went through the process once and it took over 2 months for them to say "Ok"
to working on an open source game.

Depending on the content and nature of your website, I expect the likelihood
of approval will vary from difficult to impossible.

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DanielHouston
I work at IBM. But my word isn't law

I believe the policy is that you declare all your side projects, which get
reviewed and approved by lawyers and you're then able to do what you like with
them. 100% of projects I've heard people submitting have been approved.

Otherwise, the party line is that IBM hold the IP. I've never seen this happen
in practice though.

Obviously don't work on side projects on company time. If you did you might
have more than IP problems to worry about!

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Gelser
I recently left IBM. If it relates to your job yes, if IBM can use it then
even better. IIRC if you don't open source it, IBM can claim ownership of it
because you developed it in Company time (and possible on company machines).
If you don't open source it or make it free, IBM might try sell it.

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gesman
I don't see why having a hobby outside of business hours needs to be approved.
Be that stamp collecting or website making.

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poooogles
Why not just ask them?

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citruspi
Because the recruiters may not know and give him a bullshit answer or may
intentionally misinform him.

For example, I worked at a company last year. During the application process I
asked about working on my side projects and about contributing to open source
projects. After I signed my offer my recruiter let me know that she had
received a response from the legal team. The consensus was that I'd be able
to, but my code would have to be reviewed before it was released to make sure
it didn't conflict with my work. I was content with that arrangement since the
NDA was pretty restrictive.

When I started working I contacted the legal team to ask about the process,
and I was told that my recruiter was incorrect, I would not be able to work on
side projects or contribute to other open source projects.

In retrospect, I wished I'd asked engineers who worked there, not Human
Resources. It probably wouldn't have changed whether or not I applied, but it
was incredibly disappointing to be told I could do something, just to be told
I couldn't actually do it once I started working there.

