On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 15:08:58 -0500
Rich Puhek <rpuhek@etnsystems.com> wrote:
> Steve Lamb wrote:
> > So do you think that any artist would sign on and say that x type of
> > work is owned, whole or in part, by the company regardless of whether or
> > not the work was done for that copy or on their own?
> Actually, when was the last time you saw a rock star tell a record label
> "you know, I wrote this song on my own time, so I don't think you really own
> the rights to it"?
All the time. Musical artists have been known to write things on their
own time and release them later under a different label or independently. The
studios only own what the artists have granted them at the time. What they
wrote in their spare time is theirs until they turn it over.
> Again, this assumes that the author working on eBay did not sign a
> noncompete contract. If he was a key developer, I would not be surprised
> if eBay's contract stipulated that should the author leave eBay, that he
> not work for any other online auction sites (at least for a period of
> time, or within a geographic area). It's fairly common practice in
> different industries (heck, I can't talk to my old insurance agent for
> another couple of months, since he had a noncompete signed with his old
> insurance company).
Which largely doesn't apply when it comes to such soft media as the arts
and programming. If an insurance agent strikes out on his own and takes his
client base from his previous employer he has deprived that employer of
revenue. He must create a new client list for himself. If an author
(programmer, etc) strikes out on his own he does not take anything with him.
While he cannot revisit the material that is copyrighted by another entity
nothing prohibits him from creating new material.
> 1a) did the contract contain provisions regarding ownership of
> intellectual property, inventions, copyrights, etc?
> If the contract did, it is likely that in signing the contract, the
> employee VOLUNTARILY AGREED that any inventions, code, etc. are the
> property of their employer, even if done on their own time.
You mean like you agreeing to the Code of Conduct of the lists for Debian
yet violating that Code of Conduct? See:
<http://www.debian.org/MailingLists/>, 9th item in the Code of Conduct.
--
Steve C. Lamb | I'm your priest, I'm your shrink, I'm your
PGP Key: 8B6E99C5 | main connection to the switchboard of souls.
| -- Lenny Nero - Strange Days
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