Copyright

[SAS]

I could do with some helpful advice on copyrighting.

I work for a large mail company as a data entry keyer, although my job involves mangament and training.

The shift manager ask a friend in work to create a board game based on diversity for team meetings which are held once a week. Diversity training is being given throughout the company at all levels, but they want to keep the theme going after we are trained, hence this game idea.

Now I stepped in to help my friend and together we created a board game that is informative, but most important of all fun to play. Play tests have been very good and management are very impressed, to the point where the ball has started rolling and higher management have become involved. They are now looking at copyrighting the game.

Now here is my problem. In the last meeting one shift manager commented the game is highly marketable for not just this company but for others like 118, orange e.t.c. I had a quiet word with one of the shift managers later on about the copyright and she said the company will do it in their name, but said if myself and my friend could copyright it to do it asap?

Now the game was done in company time, apart from the board and ideas which I did on a weekend out of work. My contract is for a "data entry keyer" and it does not mention anything about materials I create on behalf of the company.

So do the company or my friend and I own the copyright? If the company do is there anything I can do, or have rights to (author rights?)...

I don't want this taken off me and the company taking full credit.

 

[bigbb]

First, have a read through http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1988/Ukpga_19880048_en_1.htm

Where it's stated:

11.—(1) The author of a work is the first owner of any copyright in it, subject to the following provisions.

(2) Where a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work is made by an employee in the course of his employment, his employer is the first owner of any copyright in the work subject to any agreement to the contrary.

Secondly, if you're not sure, consult a lawyer. As much as we love people here, you probably need professional advice.

 

[xane]

I don't want this taken off me and the company taking full credit.

This happens a lot in programming, and I am afraid in most cases the copyright belongs to the employer, regardless of whether the work was done at home or not.

Heres an extreme case, and it might be in the US, but it is an example of how far some companies are willing to go. I'm afraid the law is usually in their favour.

The company may well be a bastard to you over this, but consider that, should the game become "profitable" amongst other companies, as the co-designer, you'll be an excellent position to move jobs and demand a good salary for it

Negotiate, and above all, make sure that if the company do decide to market it, your name ends up on the box somewhere.

 

[Jupitus]

If you check your contract of employment you are likely to find a clause in their about intellectual property rights where basically you sign away any claims such as this... it's not uncommon in the slightest.

 

[Brynn]

What my friends dad did when he made his own music - he posted it to himself in a sealed enevlope and they would post mark it.


so what you could do is get a copy of all the important info - get it sent to your house. and NOT OPEN IT (very important).

So if you get in trouble for copywright you produce it in a court - not just infront of your mates, as that could show it has been tampred with.

Get this done asap - to make sure people recognise it was your idea

 

[Durzel]

Legally I think you'll find the employer will have full copyright.

It could (and would) be argued that the idea would not have come into being if you hadn't been asked by your employers to create it, during company time. Even if you hadn't been explicited asked to create the board game, the fact it was derived from your working environment, etc means - again - the idea is the property of your employers.

I'm not totally up on the legal side of things but I think as it stands currently even if you had an idea which was unrelated to your employers business domain (e.g. a Quake mod), if you worked on it on company premises during company working hours, whether or not you used company resources to do it, they would have the copyright title to it.

 

[Wazzerphuk]

I'm not totally up on the legal side of things but I think as it stands currently even if you had an idea which was unrelated to your employers business domain (e.g. a Quake mod), if you worked on it on company premises during company working hours, whether or not you used company resources to do it, they would have the copyright title to it.

After handing you your P45 with a big grin on their faces.

 

[SAS]

Moral rights are granted to the authors of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and to film directors:

++to be identified as the author of the work or director of the film in certain circumstances, e.g. when copies are issued to the public.

++to object to derogatory treatment of the work or film which amounts to a distortion or mutilation or is otherwise prejudicial to the honour or reputation of the author or director.

In contrast to the economic rights under copyright, moral rights are concerned with protecting the personality and reputation of authors. The right to be identified cannot be exercised unless it has been asserted, i.e. the author or director has indicated their wish to exercise the right by giving notice to this effect (which generally has to be in writing and signed) to those seeking to use or exploit the work or film. Moreover, both the right to be identified and the right to object to derogatory treatment can be waived by the author or director.

There are also several situations in which these rights do not apply:

+ computer programs
+ where ownership of a work originally vested in an author's employer
+ where material is used in newspapers or magazines
+ reference works such as encyclopaedias or dictionaries

Authors of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and film directors are also granted the moral right not to have a work or film falsely attributed to them.

=========

So I have no moral grounds to go on either? Best I can hope for is they let me have my name on it and carry on developing it?

The only hope I have is there not being a statement on my contract saying things I created during work is their property (read it through 4-5 times now and no sign of anything close to it). They also did not get me to sign any documentation to hand over rights, then I may have somewhere to go, although it looks bleak...

 

[FuzzyLogic]

It's a shame when companies claim someone elses product as their own in its entirity, even though they have the legal right to it and all, they should at least have the balls to put your names to it stating the original authors and pay some sort of percentage, even a small one


I'd have to agree with Xane on this though, if you have no legal legs to stand on, use it as leverage to gain a better paid position within the company

(I know that first paragraph opens a huge can of worms, but it's just my simple way of saying things, don't read into it too much )

 

[Mofo8]

Surely you have some claim to all the bits you did at home, in your own time. If they ain't willing to give you that then see about billing them for a full weekend of overtime.

BTW - WTF is diversity training???

 

[Paradroid]

What about a patent, if it's an original piece of work? I believe under Patent laws the inventor has the right to be mentioned - although the employer still owns the patent.

I think it would be a totally different scenario if you did this off your own back and your company thereafter decided to adopt it, but since you were effectively commisioned to do this work, they own it.

Lets put it this way, SAS, it'll look good on your cv.




P.S. (Mofo8) We did diversity training in our place a year or so ago - new initiative, and all that bllx.

 

[Mofo8]

Yeah, but WTF does it consist of?

 

[Paradroid]

Yeah, but WTF does it consist of?

Well, our flavour of Diversity training involved, initially, Diversity Awareness sessions (ie educating the knuckle dragging neanderthals not to judge a book by it's cover), then, Valuing Diversity (ie what can managers do with the diverse skills/talents in their teams).