I had a similar issue at a previous employer, I simply altered the code slightly so that, without my input (on an expensive contract rate) their systems would fall apart......... bet they wish they gave me that payrise now!
hi guys im after a bit of advice,
I currently work as a CAD technician and do a bit of VBA programming when a project needs it/when there is no work/ in my own time. My contract/ job
role has nothing to do with programming its just something that i do to help the office out.
There has been alot of petty things going on (one example is that i attended a funeral yesterday for my nan and the person who signed it off has ended
up in a load of grief! im sorry but family come first and i gave them over a weeks notice so there shouldnt be a problem),any way i wont go into it
all; i want to remove my tools from the office computers but who has the copy right of the tools? i have made some in my own time and some at work.
would the company own the tools that i have developed when i was there?
Thanks
Not a lawyer, but have working in/around IT development for quite a while...
Fine line here...if it was developed on their equipment, they can lay certain claims against it.
Also depends on your contract - is there anything in there about IPR whilst in their employ?
Pragmatic question - presumably you want to remove the tools/code so you have copies to "refer to" if you leave? Or is it more to stick it
to them....If the former then it's normally just done on the QT. If the latter, then if they find you've deliberately removed code/tools
they rely on then it could get complicated in a nasty sense...
my contract has nothing about IPR that i am aware of.
I dont realy need copies of them as the tools were started at work and completed at home in my own time. It was more to "stick it to them"
Im guessing that im on dodgy grounds, they may be my tools but as they have been created/started on their computers they are technically theirs?
It is a very grey area and one which, I suspect, your employer would win if taken to court...
I had a similar issue at a previous employer, I simply altered the code slightly so that, without my input (on an expensive contract rate) their
systems would fall apart......... bet they wish they gave me that payrise now!
Anything devised/invented/created while employed belongs to the employer.
quote:
Originally posted by designer
Anything devised/invented/created while employed belongs to the employer.
If what you do create a serious problem for them, such that they decide its worth going to court, you will find the court relys on documentary
evidence as to who 'owns' the software (I did my jury service a couple of years ago - if it isnt writtendown it didnt happen). Do you have
any evidence that it was created at home? The current install shows they have the software on their system. It will be up to you to prove otherwise.
Your reputation may be dragged through the mud, maybe only locally, but that could still be a problem.
I'd mod the scripts/codes so that it prints 'tool provided by <your name>' every time they display the screen or use it to
print.
Regards
Hugh
Do you think you can take any drawings or documents you wrote with you? What makes software special?
If something was created in your own time, at your own home and the software doesn't incorporate any of the companies IP then they would have a hard time claiming any copyright. Otherwise it's almost certainly theirs.
Claim there is a bug, which has resulted in erroneous behaviour, so you have removed them until you have time to debug and fix them.
Definitely check your contract thoroughly, usually there would be a specific Intellectual Property section to cover all of this, there is in mine, my
company owns everything I produce while working for them.
If there isn't, all bets are off.
Cheers,
John
quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
If something was created in your own time, at your own home and the software doesn't incorporate any of the companies IP then they would have a hard time claiming any copyright. Otherwise it's almost certainly theirs.