Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

False Copyright Claim

My employer took material I wrote to create a book bearing his and his company's name. He put a copyright notation on it, but admitted it was not really copyrighted, he'd 'done it to keep people from stealing it'. I was on my own time when I wrote it and not paid. He pressured me to input it in his company computer, which I did do on company time. I insisted he not profit from it and put my name on it, which he reluctantly did. I asked for payment and was denied it, he claimed it was his property now and my job was at stake. It has been reprinted (in the hundreds) by demand. He fired me and he is now selling it without my name on it. How do I confirm his copyright is false, report it, and claim my rightful intellectual property?


Asked on 4/26/04, 1:27 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Re: False Copyright Claim

If you are the one that wrote it and it was on your own time at home, then you can register it with the United States Copyright office. The fee is nominal. After it has been registered, you can then assert copyright violation against your former employer and recover profits they generated and damages.

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Answered on 4/26/04, 2:20 am
Sheldon G. Bardach Law Offices of Sheldon G. Bardach

Re: False Copyright Claim

There is a procedure for contesting a claim of copyright if your former boss has now filed for copyright protection. In the meantime, you should file for copyright protection under the Act. The material is yours, unless you had an employment contract which provided differently.

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Answered on 4/26/04, 11:09 am


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