IP Ownership

[buzzy]

Is the code that i produce on my own personal laptop during work hours for work, owned by me or the company i'm working for?

I understand that if I was working on a work supplied computer it would be theirs, but i'm not, it is my personal laptop.

-buzzy

 

[Trancendance]

Did you sign an employment contract that addressed the issue?

I believe that absent an explicit contractual agreement, the assumption is that anything produced in your capacity as an agent for the company belongs to the company. Your ownership of the computer is irrelevant.

However, most (& virtually all large) companies include this detail in the employment contract.

 

[Mariposa]

Good question.

Did you sign an employment agreement with your employer stating something to the effect that you would devote your entire productive time at work to the benefit of your employer and that any discoveries/innovations, etc. are the property of your employer?

Our firm drafts agreements of this nature frequently for computer and software companies. If you signed an employment agreement with similar wording, then most likely the intellectual property rights to the code belong to your employer. If you did not... most likely the intellectual property rights belong to you since you used your own personal property to create the code and did not use the company's resources...

That being said, is buzzy's time considered a company resource? Clarification on whether an employee's time is considered a company resource (in the same manner as a company laptop, for example) would be appreciated.

edit: trancendance, you read my mind :D

 

[buzzy]

Thanks for the answers so far. No I didn't sign any contracts at all.

 

[alasdairm]

That being said, is buzzy's time considered a company resource?/B]

"during work hours for work"

it was during work hours and it was for work - surely it's theirs?

i've learned that common sense is rarely a good guide when it comes to the law but i'm intrigued to hear the answer to this...

alasdair

 

[terayon]

the answer is quite simple...if anyone asks... u did it at home on your own laptop on your own time....let them prove otherwise

 

[alasdairm]

i think i'm misunderstanding this - we're not talking about a piece of shareware or even commercial software you are producing for your own entertainment or even personal commercial gain?

you said you are producing it "for" work.

we are talking about code you are writing as part of your job which is part of a product/service your company sells/will sell?

alasdair

 

[buzzy]

its my idea, my concepts and my design, that I am producing, as a way of breaking down webpages and editing them. The idea is to include this into a currently non-existant product that we'll eventually try to sell. I'm probably leaving soon as the companys's chance at survival is slim.

 

[Trancendance]

It sounds to me like you're being paid to develop this as a part of your job. Chances are, that makes it your company's property. The fact that it's "your idea" doesn't matter. You are an agent of the company, as such, "your ideas" that the company pays you to develop are actually the company's ideas. Typically, software is protected by copyright, so here's the policy:

Works Made for Hire - In the case of a work made for hire, the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared is considered the author for purposes of this title, and, unless the parties have expressly agreed otherwise in a written instrument signed by them, owns all of the rights comprised in the copyright. 17 U.S.C. 201(b).

If the company really is in bad shape, maybe you should approach the higher ups and ask them to grant you the rights to your work.