My employer vs. employee copyright situation (input welcome!)

<p>Hi Kelly<br>

thank you for pointing me to the US copyright laws. Just a quick read looks to me like Joe hasnt got much of a case . Copyright laws were also revamped here (Australia) in the past ten years or so. The lesson here is to specify who has what in writing. The only grey area I can see in this case is that Joe was employed as a pet store salesman not as a photographer, however the copyright law clearly states that the employer will be the copyright owner of anything produced whilst in their employ. I know that photographers working in and for graphic design studios, newspapers and magazines automatically forfeit copyright to their employers / contractors unless a business agreement has been negotiated and signed beforehand. The terms and conditions stated in these agreements can be quite complex ranging from usage to royalties and all in between.<br>

Peter</p>

<p>Hi Peter;<br /> <br /> many of us here seem to mention to get a proper lawyer on many of these type threads;<br /> where we as lay folks are basically a peanut gallery with opinions.<br /> <br /> But then again too many of us want to save money; or do it ourselves; or learn more; or walk on thin ice or; or play with dynamite.:) all of us have made mistakes by assuming; its human. <br /> <br /> I fear that by NOT seeing a proper copyright lawyer somebody such as a former employee could get sued by ASSUMING / FEELING they own the images; ie selling them to a competitor; using them on ones own website as advertising and get into real pickle; ie legal woes.</p>

<p>Legal issues aside, I guess my confusion regarding all this is that you say you "volunteered your services and equipment", but that you feel uncomfortable about them continuing to use the images for financial gain after you left - even if it had been under amicable circumstances... </p>

<p>WTF? Did you happen to mention that when you "volunteered"? Of course not, you did the work - on your employers time and while being paid - presumably having more fun than doing your normal duties, and made no such stipulations about them not using the images after you left. If you HAD said that they would have simply had someone else do the work.</p>

<p>My advice would be to move on - take pride in the fact that your images are being used, if you'd like to see a credit line you could ask them for one. This is not a battle worth fighting in my opinion (not a legal opinion, a human one). You aren't fighting some huge entity that will settle for bundles of cash, if you stop them using their website for commerce what have you really achieved? There are other employees livelihoods to consider. And from a peace of mind point of view, who needs this crap in their lives - it will fester, create negativity and really... for what?</p>

<p>Sorry to say, but just one more vote saying I think you have no case. The employer owns what he employeed you to do. </p>

<p>My take on it is that your former employer has a non exclusive license & that you still own the photos. </p>