Legal Question in Technology Law in Illinois
Source Code Ownership
While employed at a law firm an employee wrote a software program that enhanced their and other employees job efficiency. The employee was not intructed to create the program. The employee spent most of the time developing the program during their own personal time. Some time was spent developing during working hours at the employers place of business.
After resigning from the law firm, the employee was requested to turn over the source code and program. After refusing, the employer served the employee with a summons siting damages of over $5,000.
What is the employees right to keeping, copywriting , and licensing the source code to the program?
--name removed--
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Source Code Ownership
There are two questions involved here. One relating to employee rights to inventions and the other relating to the "work-for-hire" doctrine. This is a fact intensive question in both cases. What you have given is insufficient to determine the answer. Was there any written agreement between the employee and the law firm concerning the development of the software? Did the employee receive compensation for or bill the firm for any time spent on the development of the software? On the surface, it would appear that the employee owns the source code due to lack of the written agreement necessary to create a work for hire. However, there is likely some employee agreement between the employee and the law firm, which may provide rights in the law firm as to the inventions involved, if any. Illinois has an Employee Patent Act 765 ILCS 1060 that may come into play in your fact situation. However, I need more information to know. I also am admitted in Illinois and practice copyright law and patent law in Illinois and can certainly predict the probable outcome with more facts.
I just received your posting today, some two months after you posted it. Lawguru seems to be way behind again.
Re: Source Code Ownership
I agree with the general statements made by the attorney responding to this on June 9. I add only that the exact same issue arose while I was practicing in New York (rather than Chicago). There, I represented a computer programmer who developed a software program for his company; however, at the time he developed the initial version of the program he was an independent contractor and, at the time he developed improvements to it, he was an employee. Of course, this factual scenario complicated matters somewhat because, as has already been stated, much depends upon a factual analysis.
In the New York case, my client left the company and refused to give the source code or provide any technical support. The company then sued him, and we counterclaimed. Ultimately, like most litigation, the case settled on quite favorable terms.
Please feel free to provide additional details of what occurred in order to perform a most sophisticated analysis.
-- Kenneth J. Ashman; Ashman & Griffin, LLC; [email protected]
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
