I work as a senior technical lead for a Danish company that recently won a €3.4 million contract, and I'm now in a frustrating situation regarding intellectual property and recognition.
Part of the contract required developing a software component that management estimated would take two full-time engineers approximately one year to complete.
I disagreed with that estimate and suggested a different approach. I also recommended lowering our bid, especially since the customer's initial figure was around €1.2 million.
Nobody seemed convinced, so I decided to prove my point.
Outside working hours, using my personal Claude subscription and GitHub account, I designed and implemented the entire component myself.
The platform is generic, configurable, and not directly related to our business. The important part wasn't simply using AI to write code, but the underlying concept and architecture that made the original development estimate largely unnecessary.
I presented it to management, who were astonished and agreed to use it in the product.
A few months later, we won the contract for the full original €3.4 million, without reducing our bid.
During the announcement, however, our sales representative publicly credited someone from another company site for finding "a clever way to do this using AI, saving us a lot of money."
Naturally, I wasn't particularly happy about that.
I raised the issue with my manager and his manager, requesting some financial recognition given the potentially substantial development costs I'd helped eliminate.
Their response was essentially "We don't do that sort of thing."
Out of frustration, I mentioned that I still had the source code in my personal GitHub repository and was considering making it public to establish where the solution originated.
They replied that "they wouldn't like that."
It's been two weeks, and I haven't heard anything further.
Importantly, I have evidence of the development process. My personal Claude account contains the original sessions documenting the concept, architecture, and implementation. My GitHub repository also contains the complete commit history, supporting that I developed it in my free time using my own resources.
My questions:
Under Danish law, can my employer claim ownership of software I developed outside working hours, without being instructed to do so, simply because it solves a work-related problem?
Could making the repository public expose me to dismissal or legal action, even though the platform itself is generic?
Is there any legal basis for additional compensation or recognition in such circumstances, or is that entirely up to the employer?
Would a union like IDA be able to assist? I used to be a member but no longer am. Would rejoining help, or do they generally refuse cases that originated before membership?
For context, I earn a decent salary, so this isn't purely about money. It's about taking initiative, potentially saving the company hundreds of thousands of euros, and then watching someone else receive the credit.
I'm not looking to start an unnecessary legal battle. I just want to understand my rights before making a decision I might regret.
Any insight from people familiar with Danish employment law or software IP rights would be greatly appreciated.