|
Who Owns Your Website? |
| Basic U.S. copyright law initially gives the creator of a protected work a transferable copyright interest in the item. The work must be original and “fixed in any tangible medium of expression . . . from which [it] can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.” If an employee creates a business website for its employer, the website’s design and/or content may be “owned” by the employee under copyright law. In such a case, if the employee leaves the business, they would take the right to the website with them and could potentially seek additional fees from the business for its continued use, or possibly even an injunction to pull it from the internet. This will probably not be the case if website design is within the employee’ s normal scope of duties, for example if the employee were a website designer whose primary employment duties involved the preparation of websites. The employer may also be protected if it hires an independent contractor specifically for the project. In these examples, the website would likely be a “work for hire,” and the employer would thus own the copyright. Regardless of the status or reputation of the website designer, it is always a good idea for the entity who wishes to own and control their website to have a written agreement setting out ownership rights to the website content and design. If the site is created by a professional web developer, it is important for the business entity to have an agreement in place that details the fees, deadlines, upkeep and maintenance responsibilities, adherence to copyright and licensing requirements, and an indemnification to the business entity in case the developer uses protected materials or takes some action, on purpose or by mistake, which may violate the law or the rights of another. For “home-grown” websites, concerns may arise regarding the use of clip art or prepackaged graphics that may or may not be subject to licensing agreements limiting their use for personal (not business) purposes, or to only a non-electronic medium. There are many other points of concern in such a rapidly-expanding market. |
© 2005Cook Schuhmann & Groseclose, Inc. All
rights reserved.
No portion of this website may be reproduced via any means
without prior written permission.
The information contained in this site is for informational
purposes only. Nothing contained herein should be construed
to be legal advice.
Disclaimer