On Thu, 22 Jul 1999, Alex Mirsakov <imirsakova[_at_]aol.com> wrote:
>
> I am a Civil Engineer working for the State Goverment Agency. I
> developed a computer program to perform certain engineering tasks.
> It was my own initiative to write this program, I wrote it partially
> in the office using the company computer and software, and partially
> at home.
>
> The company liked the program and they want to copywrite it.
> The company lawyer stated that the program appeared to be a
> "work-made-for-hire" and the copywrite belongs to the company
> (State Agency). However, writing computer programs is not a part
> of my work responsibilities, and, as I understand, the work I did
> does not fall within any of two "work-made-for-hire" criteria.
>
> Please advise how I should act in this situation. Thank you.
Alex,
Unfortunately there is not easy answer to your question. You fall into an area that is litigated frequently. The specifics you listed are FACTORS that a court (or jury) considers in determining whether or not the work was a work-for-hire. That is, the fact that you don't ordinarily write programs for your employer weighs in your favor; the fact that you used (at least partially) your employer's computers and software would work against you. There are other factors that would be taken into account as well: did you do any of the work during your work hours? Did anyone in the agency ask or encourage you to write the software? etc. Assuming the (scant) facts you gave are correct, I'd say you at least have a decent argument that the software is not the agency's. However, again, there is no saying (no matter what anyone tells you -- especially a [biased] agency attorney) exactly what the outcome of a trial would be.
Michael L. Reedy, J.D.
<mlr909[_at_]yahoo.com>
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