Intellectual Property
AARON WHITE (6 points) | Sun, 2008-03-09 04:19I am currently working for a broadcast design studio as a fulltime employee. During this time I have come up with an idea for an animated tv show away from my place of employment. The concept was roughly 70% developed outside of the studio on my own time, this mostly included character design and backgrounds.
The studio claims they own 100% of the Intellectual Property, I feel they do own a certain percent but not the full 100% as they are claiming. Can anyone shed some light on this before I see an Intellectual Property Lawyer.
Thank you
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Intellectual property is a difficult one.
Was this project solely intended as a personal project?
Problems do arise when working for companies because at times, dependant on what your working on, a company -can- rightfully claim some degree if not all of a stake in your IP.
Having developed some IP on your employers workspace/time isnt going to do you any favours, but certainly it's dependant on other details which you haven't enclosed such as were you at work, being paid (your normal salary) whilst you were working on this? and has the character design or backgrounds been influenced by anything you are doing for the company? and for the work you produced whilst on work grounds, were the company informed that you were doing a personal project?
If you are an employee for a company then you don't own any IP you create while in their employ. If you used their equipment then they own the rights to it, I believe.
You should not have done any work on your project on their equipment, this is what gives them any claim to your work at all.
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Powerpoint is not a design application
flikWORLD Design
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Dirt and Rust
Never do personal work on your employer's time. Not only is it morally wrong, it also leaves you without a legal leg to stand on when it comes time for you to claim the rights to whatever it is you produced. I've even heard of cases that were decided in favor of the employer when a FORMER employee later went public with a project he'd developed AFTER HOURS while in their employ.
Sorry, buddy, but this doesn't look good. Maybe you can turn it into a positive situation, though, if you offer your employer an appropriate share in the production (which they have a right to, whether you offer it or not), in exchange for a commitment to helping you market the finished project -- which you must then finish on your own time, unless they also agree to let you work on it as a company job. It's worth negotiating. But see that lawyer first!
Mara
Thank you all your for your input, just to clarify the situation.
The idea was something i came up with prior to bringing it into the studio. So nothing immorally has been done.
The idea began with one character design which I came up with about 4 years ago, before being employed by the current studio. Since I introduced the idea to my current employer, I was given about 40 - 60hrs to develop it further on my employer's time.
Additional designs/character descriptions and scenes were done without pay on my own time, out off the studio and using my own equipment.
They are happy to divide the Intellectual Property, but I really do feel they don't own as much as they think they do. Then again reading Mara's response I could be totally wrong and will take this all in as a learning experience. In the end I just want this to move forward and everything to be done in a fair manner.
Thanks again for everyones feedback.
Aaron
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Mara
Thanks for that clarification, Aaron. That could put a different slant on it -- I mean, if they knew about the project and encouraged you to work on it on their time, without saying anything about having a proprietary interest in the outcome. They could claim they assumed you would expect that, since it would be the more typical scenario, but still, I think it would be good to make it a priority to get advice from a qualified lawyer (someone with a background in contract of employment as well as copyright law, ideally).
I hope your project can get off the ground, and that it'll be a success! Sorry for not saying that right up front.
Are you using some kind of software to track billable hours? If so, it would be a good idea to get that info squared away in anticipation of being asked to prove what work you did when, and where. The software I use is actually easy to configure for any billing scenario, even after the fact, but if you're using something that's more rascal-proof, and assuming you really did most of the work on your own time and equipment, having that data would be a great negotiating item in your favor.
Mara
No one's questioning your ethics, and it seems you are trying to do things right. You do have to understand that they are being generous by offering you any collective interest or compensation at all for something that really is legally theirs.
Once you present an idea to your employer, it's theirs unless you have a contract stating otherwise in place before you present the idea. This is the basis of the employee/company relationship unless you are a contractor who is by definition not an employee of the company.
See the lawyer and good luck to you for any compensation/credit you can wrest from the situation, but know that your situation is not the norm; it's definitely advantageous that your company wants to negotiate.
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Powerpoint is not a design application
flikWORLD Design
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Dirt and Rust
More here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property
The employer/employee relationship is usually 'work for hire'.
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Powerpoint is not a design application
flikWORLD Design
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Dirt and Rust