> I got burned by this years ago, developing side project that was completely unrelated to the sort of work my employer did, and was not developed using any company resources. But my employment contract specified that my employer had first rights to anything I developed at all during the term of my employment.
Seriously? Did you not read the contract?
Most contracts specifically say that the work has to be RELATED to whatever you're doing at your day job. Blanket "we own everything" statements should never be accepted, ever.