> I'd like to be compensated for the work I put in on my own time out side of work. (which is well documented from the commit logs, and the fact I wasn't using an employer owned computer)
The company overall is quite stingy and I doubt that they will do this part. I'm trying to figure out what other things that I can ask for other than financial compensation. Someone mentioned Promotion and a positive review is something to ask for, which makes some sense. The only problem is according to my review, I'm already exceeding expectations. So, this project doesn't buy me much.
Overall, they are fine, and kind of, want me to drive the project, essentially because there is no one else who can do that job.
From what I can tell, it's not a very big company, so they should be flexible. So I would try to turn the tables around and get a non-exclusive deal like this:
* The company agrees to pay you for adding some extra features to the project
* You keep control and exclusive rights, but give them a license to use it (but not transfer it to others)
Edit: even if they legally can claim full ownership of the project, you have the full right to resign and go work on something else after they do so. And if this is not what they want, you will have pretty good chances negotiating a non-exclusive deal instead.
One last piece of advice:
=== DO NOT AGREE TO ANYTHING WITHOUT A LAWYER ===
Many companies would consider it business as usual to agree on your terms verbally and then slip in a clause in the contract that would completely change the balance in their favor.
The company overall is quite stingy and I doubt that they will do this part. I'm trying to figure out what other things that I can ask for other than financial compensation. Someone mentioned Promotion and a positive review is something to ask for, which makes some sense. The only problem is according to my review, I'm already exceeding expectations. So, this project doesn't buy me much.
Overall, they are fine, and kind of, want me to drive the project, essentially because there is no one else who can do that job.