Can I legally sell a software add-on package I have developed?
<p>I live in the US, and have been developing an add-on suite (at work) for a large CAD software suite we use (developed by, I believe, a US based company). It is, or has elements that, I feel are pretty valuable.</p>

<p>What I really want to do is to re-develop it in my off time (one to make it better, my current version is rather hack-ish, and two, I know I cannot legally remove the actual data files from my company) and sell it in some form or another. Is there any specific legal reason I could not do this?</p>

<p>The CAD suite this addon is for is designed with macros and addons in mind. Would this maybe be specific to the developer?</p>

<p>If you or other engineers developed any of portion of the application while on the job, at your company's location, or on their hardware then it's possible for the entire application to be considered their sole property in a court of law.</p>

<p>Addons to other applications or platforms can be sold by you assuming that you are not using code from the original application and are not in any way hacking the original app. Facebook, iphone, and android are all examples of software suites that you can build addon applications for and have full ownership to those applications. </p>

<p>Any IP you produce as an employee belongs to your employer - you can’t commercialise it because it isn’t yours.</p>

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