this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2025
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I would like to use the company machine if possible, but outside of work hours. My current contract is formulated in vague terms with references to the applicable laws (Denmark), so i’m sure it’s legal.
Bad idea from the start. Anything you make on company equipment belongs to the company. You signed and approved that. Changing that only opens up liability for the company and so even if they do approve it it will be worded against you. If you push anyway to the open source project then that opens the door for your company to attempt to claim ownership too. All around it's a lose lose situation for you, and the project.
Coding does not require a supercomputer. Go pick up a used laptop somewhere and do the work off of that.
I mean, I've just worked at multiple international companies while residing in multiple countries and each one has made me sign this. It's a no brainer. Don't use company equipment for personal projects.
Enforceable is a level of risk that we can't decide for the OP. If there is any chance of enforcement that is a chance of them taking credit for OPs work, or other financial issues. Not to mention lawyers are expensive, even if it's not enforceable, is OP willing to pay for legal fees to prove it?
Personally, even if it's not enforceable and they're completely morally justified the question remains, why open yourself up to any risk at all by using company equipment when you can literally use any other computer to do the work?
I get that. As another example, here where I live they made non compete contracts illegal, but I still sign one every time I start a new company. I assume they aren't enforceable at all, but knowing lawyers they will argue some other loophole at me. For me it's just not worth the risk of possibly needing to pay for lawyers
If you use company resources they absolutely can claim ownership on whatever you create. That much I do know. Though to be fair I’m in Canada so our laws will definitely differ in some ways.
Do not use a company machine for personal projects. Anything that touches a company machine will inevitably belong to the company.
Just get a beat up old Thinkpad for like $20 (or for free, if you’re friends with the company IT folks and they’re discarding old stock) and install something like Linux Mint to get it up and running.
Don’t even use company-owned software licenses. For instance, if you want to make a game, don’t use your company’s Unreal Engine license to do it. Use a personal license (or something free, like Godot) instead.
I have ordered a used x280 (only 8 gb ram), it was not at all that cheap though… i could probably have scored one way cheaper if i had a little more patience.
IP ownership isn't something that you can definitively establish at the outset of a project (even if you copyright code and secure patents for protectable ideas), and wrapping your work in an MIT license won't preclude infringement claims later on. Plenty of employers sponsor open source work, so it's not a crazy ask, but it's usually work that serves the company's interests. You can ask for permission to work on a project with the mutual understanding that it be MIT licensed, and 2) once work hits a release milestone, get written confirmation from your employer that they grant any claims of ownership to you (or whoever).
If you want more than informal promises from your employer, you'll find that a spare PC is gonna be much cheaper than the legal consult and drafting of any agreements you or they may want.