Re: Who owns employee survey?

On 97-04-04, Ms. Rose Marie Parsons <rmparson[_at_]sunflowr.usd.edu> wrote:
>
> Does the author of the survey have exclusive right to use of the
> questions? Did immediate supervisor give tacit permission to
> distribute the survey elsewhere by including it verbatim in the
> report to the highest level supervisor?

It sounds like the highest level supervisor, the intermediate supervisor, and the employees were all acting within the scope of their jobs and in furtherance of the employer's interests. Thus, this sounds like a work for hire scenario where the employer owns all rights to the survey and report, and may do as it pleases with them (i.e., anyone higher up on the supervisory chain can do what he/she wishes without permission from anyone lower on the supervisory chain). In your scenario, if the higher level supervisor wants to post the survey questions or the report, and the higher level supervisor is not acting against any higher level supervisor, he/she may post the survey on the listserv without the intermediate supervisor's knowledge/approval/permission. How the company wants to protect the intellectual property rights in the report is another question which I believe goes beyond the scope of your question.

Ben Monachino
<rictylbam1[_at_]aol.com> Received on Mon Apr 07 1997 - 12:31:02 GMT