http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/201.shtml

[David Nicol <david at kasey dot umkc dot edu>]

Tim Hollebeek wrote:
> 
> Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
> 
> US Code, Title 17, Chapter 2, Section 201 part (b)
> 
> b) Works Made for Hire. - In the case of a work made for hire,
>     the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared is
>     considered the author for purposes of this title, and, unless the
>     parties have expressly agreed otherwise in a written instrument
>     signed by them, owns all of the rights comprised in the copyright.

Me neither, although I was active in Agora Nomic for many months.
U.S. copyright law, http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/201.shtml,
continues:

(c) Contributions to Collective Works. - Copyright in each separate
 contribution to a collective work is distinct from copyright in the
 collective work as a whole, and vests initially in the author
 of the contribution. In the absence of an express transfer of the
 copyright or of any rights under it, the owner of copyright in the
 collective work is presumed to have acquired only the privilege of
 reproducing and distributing the contribution as part of that
 particular collective work, any revision of that collective work, and
 any later collective work in the same series. 

This looks to me like if you're using company equipment to work on
egcs, while relaxing and fishing for ideas about how to best
re-implement a new Java GUI for the guys in accounting (your work for
hire) you own your not-related-to-work production.  YouWorkHereSoft
is not going to be the "employer or other person for whom the work was
prepared" unless you work at Cygnus I would think.

______________________________________________________________________
 David Nicol 816.235.1187 UMKC Network Operations david@news.umkc.edu
          "The latest monstrous creation from the loathsome..."