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[email protected] June 2nd 06 04:13 PM
Copyright Questions (working after contract ends)
 
Hello,

I was hired as a contractor to do some PR in a foreign country and my
contract stated that anything produced within my scope of work would be
the property of the company. The contract ended on a certain date yet I
continued to work for several months without a contract.

My question: Do I hold the copyright to work-related photos taken after
the contract ended as there was no written agreement giving the photo
rights to the company?

Thanks so much.

Jack Campin - bogus address June 5th 06 02:00 PM
Copyright Questions (working after contract ends)
 
I was hired as a contractor to do some PR in a foreign country and my
contract stated that anything produced within my scope of work would be
the property of the company. The contract ended on a certain date yet I
continued to work for several months without a contract.

My question: Do I hold the copyright to work-related photos taken after
the contract ended as there was no written agreement giving the photo
rights to the company?

In Scottish law there is a concept of "standard form" for contracts
which is intended to fill in the blanks where they are incomplete
or non-existent - common sense is the default. In this case since
you were enjoying the benefits of the previous contract by getting
paid, I'd guess that a court would say that whatever the previous
contract said about intellectual property rights would also continue
in force.

Scotland is a civil-law country (like France, and unlike England and
the US outside Louisiana) so something similar may operate in others.
In England and the US I'd guess it's a lawsuit free-for-all where the
side that could pay for the most lawyers would always win.

============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ==============
Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760
http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/ for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557

Francis A. Miniter June 8th 06 03:22 AM
Copyright Questions (working after contract ends)
 
wrote:
Hello,

I was hired as a contractor to do some PR in a foreign country and my
contract stated that anything produced within my scope of work would be
the property of the company. The contract ended on a certain date yet I
continued to work for several months without a contract.

My question: Do I hold the copyright to work-related photos taken after
the contract ended as there was no written agreement giving the photo
rights to the company?

Thanks so much.



Hi,

You will need a lawyer to answer that question. First, the country in which the
work was done has to be known, as does the country where the contract was made.

Questions that come to mind:

1. Are the relevant countries parties to the Berne Convention?

2. Is the WTO Trade Related Inellectual Property Agreement applicable?

3. Does the contract contain a choice of laws provisions, e.g., "This agreement
is subject to the laws of the State of New York and the United States of
America, including international treaties and conventions."


Analysis under American law without reference to the interntional implications:
The contract provided that work performed under it belongs to the employer, a
common provision known as a Work for Hire clause. The term of the contract
expired but work continued. In such circumstances, the provisions of the
contract are generally taken to apply to the extended term of the contract. So,
under US law, it would be a Work for Hire belonging to the employer.


AGAIN, that analysis cannot be taken to answer your international question. The
precise terms of the contract and which law is applicable have to be determined
before your question can be answered.


Francis A. Miniter


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