Amazon reserved the right to take ownership of my project and all related IP at any time (including after leaving the company.) I was also forbidden from working with anyone outside of my org on the projects.

There were no exceptions allowed.

It was considerably more restrictive than any company I've worked at elsewhere.

I'm aware of Amazon's policies. Most companies have similar clauses.

I disagree. My research suggested that Amazon's policies about open source and game development were stricter. (For example, I must be willing to disclose any sales data to Amazon. I must use Amazon products when possible. I must make my project available on the Amazon store if possible.) Most companies also have a process to keep copyright if you need/want to.

Yes, most companies have approval processes. They might even be onerous approvals processes. Amazon expressly forbid me from participating in game jams with people who were not in my org.

>I disagree. My research suggested that Amazon's policies about open source and game development were stricter.

Worked at microsoft for 2 years, there are the same policies. It was not contractual though. It's just that there were notes broadcasted saying that whenever you discussed with third parties, you should use microsoft tools if possible. Want to meet someone? Send a Bing Maps link, not Google Maps. Want to share a research? Send a Bing Link, not a Google search. etc.

As for the confidentiality clauses, I work in finance, and the rules on IP and personal projects are the same as what you describe.

Today I learnt that there is a Bing Maps

Microsoft have been very helpful to OpenStreetMap. Since 2010 they allow the OSM community to trace from the Bing aerial imagery to add things to OSM. Roads, buildings, everything you can see with the aerial imagery. It's fantastically useful. OpenStreetMap database would be a fraction of the size if it wasn't for Microsoft granting us this. As of July 2018, they allow us to use Streetside imagery too. (Alas you can't use the actual maps, just the aerial/satelite imagery)

Yahoo allowed tracing from 2007 till 2011.

Microsoft is big and the contacts I have there tell me that the open source policies vary by department.

Microsoft has also undergone a massive transformation over the last few years with respect to OSS.

Most companies being who exactly? All the people disagreeing with me clearly have not read their terms of employment.

Maybe qualify “most companies” to “most large Silicon Valley tech companies”? I’ve never worked anywhere with any non-compete clause at all.

The last 4 places I've been, three encouraged us to participate in FOSS. Only one was neutral, but disallowed paid side gigs (open source was ok). It's anecdata, but totally opposite of your experience.

Nope, first time ever I hear about something such restrictive. That by itself would be a reason for me to not sign an employment contract with Amazon.

Yeah. Amazon loses a small but significant number of potential hires when they learn about the open source clause - often very good people, too. When I left they were actively working on trying to find a solution, as it had been a thorn in the side for years.

California law expressly prohibits this exact policy. If you want to be able to work on open source (that is unrelated to your job, on your own equipment) on your own time, move to Silicon Valley.

Even Amazon employees in CA should be exempt from this policy.

...As long as what you work on does not overlap with anything your employer does.

...which is a big problem if you work at Amazon or Google. (Can you think of a single software project that will not intersect any Google project? Are you sure?)

What is the law you're referring to?

CA Labor Code 2870.

I don't think that offers nearly the sort ironclad protection the GP is suggesting. The broad exemptions are part of the reason AoI agreements are universal in SV.

> "that is unrelated to your job"

My OSS project is "software development".

My company's main function is "software development".

I refuse any contract where my employer claims ownership of code I wrote in my own time on my own machine that has nothing to do with the work I do for the company. Very few contracts have contained such a clause, and I believe at least one removed such a clause when I requested it.

These days I'm self-employed and renting myself out to large companies, and this has never been an issue. They only care about the work I do for them, not about what I do in private.

Most big tech companies that I'm familiar with allow you to program on your free time, as long as you give them a heads up and it doesn't conflict with the company's products. E.g. working on a video game or contributing to open source.

From what I understand from coworkers from Google and other parts of Amazon the process is pretty similar to get approval outside of games.

Why is game development different?

Worked for Amazon. It was a big issue internally, but we never got a good answer to that question.

Please name one, they all have the same non-compete language in their job offers and they are at-will positions. It may be allowed by your manager but company policy isn't such.

Other companies have exemption policies, or mechanisms to get approvals. Amazon does not. Your choices were work privately on your own project or leave (or risk being fired for violating the policy.)

Amazon was more aggressive (in my opinion) and much stricter than any other company I've ever worked at.

Edit: I researched a lot of the other tech companies. Here's Google's documentation, for example, which outlines an exception process: https://opensource.google.com/docs/iarc/

Amazon has an exemption policy.

Not to the game development policies.

Off the top of my head, there's company policies for employees to work on their own projects at Google, Facebook, and Github.

How often are they granted, and under what circumstances?

Hopefully a more recent Googler will answer you. In 2013 they were granted often, so long as they didn't compete with a Google product. I had to close my photo sharing site off to new users when I started at Google.

I worked for Amazon and various other companies. Most of them did not have those restrictions.

Netflix.