(Context - I've worked for IBM on two non-consecutive occasions, do not currently, speak only for myself etc)
It may also vary by geography.
Between 2005-2012ish, IBM UK and IBM Australia didn't claim ownership of IP created on your own time, and I wouldn't have wanted to sign up if they had, but they did require you to consult them and seek permission before becoming heavily involved in FOSS and contributing to public OSS projects. This was for several reasons, IIRC -
- To make sure you weren't competing with their business
- To make sure you weren't leaking IBM IP
- To make sure you weren't bringing IP into IBM that might cause issues (think SCO)
This all seems pretty reasonable. OTOH the one time I did want to make a contribution to the linux kernel (board support for an ARM NAS), IBM delayed giving me any answer at all until the moment had passed and the project was no longer interesting. I very quietly helped a couple of other people get their boxes running too, as I hadn't been explicitly forbidden from sharing the work, but I didn't feel confident trying to submit it to the maintainers in case it got picked up by my employer and they kicked up a fuss.
It may also vary by geography.
Between 2005-2012ish, IBM UK and IBM Australia didn't claim ownership of IP created on your own time, and I wouldn't have wanted to sign up if they had, but they did require you to consult them and seek permission before becoming heavily involved in FOSS and contributing to public OSS projects. This was for several reasons, IIRC -
This all seems pretty reasonable. OTOH the one time I did want to make a contribution to the linux kernel (board support for an ARM NAS), IBM delayed giving me any answer at all until the moment had passed and the project was no longer interesting. I very quietly helped a couple of other people get their boxes running too, as I hadn't been explicitly forbidden from sharing the work, but I didn't feel confident trying to submit it to the maintainers in case it got picked up by my employer and they kicked up a fuss.