[Year 12 IPM] A quick before-the-exam question

[Robert Minato]

I worked for RMIT University a few years ago and there policy was the same.
Done in their time, they own it. I did some development work at home, they
paid, and they owned the work.
Rob

-- 
Robert Minato
Technology Leader
Catholic College Wodonga
1 Bowman Crt
Wodonga 3690
02 6059 1222



On 31/10/06 11:48 AM, "Mark Kelly" <kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au> wrote:

> Unless there's an agreement to the contrary, the "author" of
> intellectual property created as part of an employer/employee is deemed
> to be the employer.
> 
> e.g. in the UK...
> 
> "Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988
> 
> Section 11: Where a literary work (includes computer programmes,
> dramatic, musical or artistic work) is made by an employee in the course
> of his employment, his employer is the first owner of any copyright in
> the work subject to any agreement to the contrary."
> 
> Similar laws apply in the US and (I expect) Australia.
> 
> I seem to even remember cases where employees doing private work that
> was similar to their paid job have lost rights to IP.  The employer
> argued that the employee's patent or copyright was helped/subsidised by
> the employer who paid them.
> 
> It makes sense to me.  If I worked for Du Pont for example, and invented
> Teflon as part of my job, I would be surprised if the company said I
> could have all the income from my invention.  How would the company
> survive?
> 
> A bit of Googling was interesting...
> 
> http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/ipr/IntellectualProperty.htm
> 
> http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0GSZ/is_11_42/ai_53710428
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Keith Richardson wrote:
>> A question from the prac exam was:
>> 
>> "A young innovative programmer working for SoftEASI (a dynamic software
>> development company) has developed a unique virtual reality game.
>> Explain to whom the rights to the game belong under the Copyright
>> Amendment (Digital Agenda) Act 2000."
>> 
>> The answer claims that because it was undertaken during working hours,
>> SoftEASI owns the rights to the software, to which I disagree. Unless
>> the software had some connection to the work being done normally, the
>> author has copyright over it.
>> 
>> As an analogy, if there is a photojournalist for a newspaper out taking
>> photos at a sporting tournament, if they take out their mobile phone to
>> take a personal photo, the company does not own it, the author does.
>> 
>> What do others think?
>> Keith Richardson
>> IPM List Moderator
>> Head of ICT, Leibler Yavneh College
>> Elsternwick
>> Ph: 03.9528.4911
>> k.richardson at yavneh.vic.edu.au
>> 
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