Code written during work hours using company resources belongs to the company; personal open‑source projects should be done in your own time and on your own equipment, without mixing them.

13. Code written during work hours using company resources belongs to the company; personal open‑source projects should be done in your own time and on your own equipment, without mixing them.

Cost: No cost involved. When you start a new job, be sure to read the intellectual‑property clauses in your employment contract. The main difficulty is that personal projects and work tasks often share the same computer, so you must keep them separate.

In plain terms: Work‑related creations are defined as works made in the course of your duties. Software is explicitly listed in law as “copyright belonging to the employer.” If a program is primarily produced using company hardware, internal networks, or business data — and the company assumes responsibility for it — then the copyright rests with the employer. The same applies when the contract states this. As the creator, you retain only the right to be credited. Inventions developed using company resources also belong to the company, with patent rights following the same rule. Even if you write code “after hours,” using a company computer or business data can still make it qualify as a work created mainly with employer resources.

Benefit: Works produced to fulfill job duties are considered “work‑made‑for‑hire.” Under normal circumstances the author keeps copyright, while the employer has the right to use them for its own business and may not allow third parties to use them in the same way for two years. However, two exceptions exist: works such as software or engineering designs that are created mainly with employer resources and for which the employer bears responsibility, and any works expressly assigned to the employer by contract. In both cases the author retains only the right to be credited. “Employer resources” include hardware, internal networks, and business data. Inventions created while performing job duties or using those same resources are classified as “work‑made‑for‑hire inventions,” with all patent rights belonging to the employer nationwide.

Evidence grade: A

Sources: Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (2020). Copyright Law (Amended in 2020, Article 18). <http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/c2/c30834/202011/t20201119_308796.html>; Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (2020). Patent Law (Amended in 2020, Article 6). <http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/c2/c30834/202011/t20201119_308800.html>

Notes: Software is explicitly categorized as “copyright belonging to the employer,” so programmers rarely qualify for the standard rule granting them copyright while the employer retains a two‑year exclusive right to use it. Code written outside work hours can still be deemed a product of employer resources if it is produced on a company computer, accessed company networks, or uses business data. To keep personal projects truly separate, use your own machine, avoid company repositories, and ensure they do not overlap with any company work.