I'm a new web designer and I used to work for a company about 6 months ago. i had just graduated college and took the job. So after about 4 months of working there i couldn't take it anymore and quit and decided to work elsewhere. I have a portfolio site with my work and what I've done.. www.Swanydesign.com in my website section I've outlined all the sites I've done and what I've done on them, just as a reference and to show my skills, a basic huge resume if you will... Out of the blue i get an email from my former employer (who I haven't worked for in about 6 months) saying that i need to take off the websites i worked on for them or else they will pursue legal action. i did sign an employee handbook at the beginning of the job.. but i'm wondering what rights i have. i'm not making money off the designs.. it's just a portfolio site to showcase my work... After email correspondence from the former employer this is what the hand book said..."On your Employee Non-Compete and Trade Secret Agreement signed by you on May 21st 2007 Last Paragraph. This agreement shall also cover work done for the above company and/or companies. Any and All work performed for the above company’s and received compensation for from the above company’s, is the property of Y2k Service, Inc. Ellis and Associates of Sanford Inc. and or it’s customer’s. The employee or ex-employee has no rights to the work or claim to the work. They can say they were employed by the above companies only. This paragraph stays enforced indefinitely. Currently you are breaking the state copyright infringement policy by placing and displaying said work on your web site without permission. This information has now been passed to our lawyer. " so my question is what rights do i have? I feel like they are counting on me to give in, because I can't afford to do anything else. Any help would be great thank you. Happy New Year. Swany Swan@Swany.cc
You have to remove them from your portfolio, due to the fact you worked for them, they own everything you did, you were paid for all your services I would assumed.
I'm not a lawyer, but sometimes i play one on the Internet.. We have a similar situation where i work with engineers and patents.. if they design a great new widget while employed by the company, the company owns the patent, the company owns all the profits - the company owns it all.. So like Empireweb said, i'm guessing the company, who owns everything you did, has the upper hand in this shituation..
Remove the contested content from your Website. Even if you created 100% of the design, it is still the property of your previous employer. If you signed a no-compete clause, this could also open you up to further liabilities. It's unfortunate you can't showcase your work. But just like the many patents that were awarded from employee creations, it is the employer that owns the rights.
Yes, remove the designs ONLY IF you created them at the time of your employment with the company as they own everything you created at that time. Sorry mate, shit happens.
The contract you signed seems pretty clear. You should remove the content asap and begin work on a new portfolio.
Interesting comments. If you spoke to a Copyright Lawyer you may well find you have a case, but they are often ambiguous anyway and will never give a firm pre-court judgement. The Copyright (design/content) if original lies with the designer/copywriter unless you have signed it away (read your contract, which in itself may not adhere to the law), but even then you may have rights. I do believe there is a new EU law which gives preferential rights and even a percentage of royalites on Patents, even though you are employed at the time. Employment law is a great defender of the employed these days and if you cannot show examples of your work to promote yourself then you are at an unfair disadvantage. Unless you can afford to defend, then its often best to back off and be creative. You can conversely link or use an iFrame to bring in the work you did and give the previous company a reference to the publication on your site. Its not always clear cut. I know, we lost $1m on a copyright case based on UK law. We now have much more aligned laws with Europe!
Wow, that post made it pretty clear. Well, my addition again: The previous post mentioned giving the company a reference in your portfolio but that again may not work. So, here is a better alternative, just work out an arrangement with the company where they watermark the images and host it on their own server. So, you are just linking to them and in no way breaching the agreement. I may not be completely right, but you could always try it.