Jump to content
Claris Engage 2025 - March 25-26 Austin Texas ×

copyright


bigcookie79

This topic is 8090 days old. Please don't post here. Open a new topic instead.

Recommended Posts

This is definitely a question for a lawyer if you want to make sure you get the right answer. I believe the answer lies in exactly what your ties to the organization are. If you are an "employee" of the organization, then anything you do while working for them belongs to them. How a volunteer for a non-profit fits in to that, I'm not sure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does intern = employee? My guess is probably. The question is whether this falls in the category "works for hire."

Employees who produce creative work on the job cannot expect to retain personal ownership rights.

etc. Without a contract, it doesn't look good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Newbies

Thank you all for your imput. It seems my situation is too complicated not to consult a lawyer. Not sure it's worth the trouble, though. I don't know how to assess the worth of my "solution" at this point.

Was I an employee operating within the scope of my job? A simple question, seemingly. But nothing in my situation was explicit. Is an intern different from an employee? I received no other benefits, had no taxes witheld and received a stipend paid in advance not a salery paid for work done. In practice, the executive director did not exercise much control over my routine. Finishing the database became synonomous with finishing the internship.

Is database development within the scope of my job? A database is certainly central to the development of an organization. Initially I was in a mentorship with a woman whose field was generating income for the organization by schmoozing with prospective donors, writing grants, developing a marketing strategy, writing press releases.

My job description as posted included researching and soliciting prospective donors, data entry and a handful of other tasks associated with my mentor's field. I initiated the database project, but received direction from a more experienced programmer who was paid by the organization. Does this make it a collaborative work? The executive director also regularly tested the work, influencing the final product.

chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing you haven't mentioned is whether you've just come out and asked the powers-that-be at the organization if they'd have any problem with you retaining the copyright, or developing a similar system on your own, etc. Maybe they'd be fine with it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Might be better to phrase the question in different terms: something like "The database is yours, but can I have a copy to modify and use for myself?" Not an unreasonable request.

That way you avoid chasing copyright which is only ever going to be expensive and painful. And you'll be modifying the databases anyway if you try to reuse them again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This topic is 8090 days old. Please don't post here. Open a new topic instead.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.