Legal Owner of Website?

My wife was part of a non-profit organization, and while part of the organization she created a website for them.
She was responsible for maintaining the website, and never handed over any files.

Now that she is no longer part of this organization she asked the organiztion if they wanted her to continue maintaining the website for a monthly fee; they turned down this offer, but are now asking for the contents of the website to maintain on their own, and have also asked her to remove our companies Copyright on the website.

She is willing to give them the website, but wants to be paid for it, and is not jsut going to hand over her work without compensation.

Who is entitled to the material? Who does the copyright belong to?

 

It is going to come down to the conditions under which the site was created, but as you said, it was created for them while she was part of the organization. It sounds like she did the work with the understanding that she wasn't going to be paid, so I'm not sure why you think she should be paid now? Regardless of who ultimately would win a legal dispute, it sounds like a bad PR situation to get into this kind of dispute with a non-profit.

 

It would belong to the non-profit if she created it for the non-profit free of charge.

 

You said so yourself, she created the work for them while working there. Based on what you are saying, it sounds like she would have no rights to it and looks pretty bad trying to take it back now. Tell her to move on and forget that site.

 

You said so yourself, she created the work for them while working there. Based on what you are saying, it sounds like she would have no rights to it and looks pretty bad trying to take it back now. Tell her to move on and forget that site.
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While this is true, I'd say that shoe could reasonably be expected to be paid for work done after she severed her relationship with the organization. And transferring files etc can be described as 'work', for which she can charge what she likes. After all, they can't 'force' her to 'work'. Slavery has been abolished. If they are asking her to 'transfer' files, it sounds like she is responsible for the hosting and domain too - if she paid hosting / domain fees, she should receive something for transferring those over too. I'm not a lawyer btw, just big on common sense.

 

If she did the website at home or weekends (not on the clock), there could be a case for asking for a footer link back to her design page.

 

I got the impression it was all volunteer work so I am not sure that matters. Frankly, if I were the company as soon as somebody starts with this type of shit, I would drop the contents and move on. These silly claims of ownership only serve as a waste of time for all involved.

 

Honestly if for a non profit organization you guys should just give it to them. But if it comes down to leagal issues the sites owner is the domain name owner however you do not have to give the files to them as long as the files were not stolen domain hacked and other stuff like that.

 

For a non profit I would give it to them and move on. Learn from your experience, what your doing seems to be like a jealous girlfriend mad after you left/fired.