Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois
Can my employer assign credit for a publication to another person when it is pub
I found your website and had a quick legal question about copyrights.
I previously worked for a prestigious investment manager as a real estate researcher, and, during my employment, I wrote a number of articles on financial topics that were not published until recently. When these articles were published, some in the most prestigious academic journals, my name had been removed and replaced by the name of the managing director of the research unit. The articles in question were written solely by me while employed by this company, and I have extensive documentation supporting this fact.
Do I have a cause for action either against (1) my former boss, (2) the company, or (3) the academic journals which published the works? I understand that the work becomes the property of my employer, but can they then publish the work publicly and assign credit to another? Clearly there would be an issue if I contacted the academic journals directly, but I would like to specifically know about my legal rights in this matter and any potential causes for action?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Can my employer assign credit for a publication to another person when it is
You may have a cause of action for false designation of origin under section 43(a) of the Lahnam Act (15USC1025(a). See http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15/1125.html depending on the facts of your case. That is a sophisticated legal area and you need expert help. Do not try to mount such a claim without an attorney specializing in intellectual property (and particularly copyright and trademark law) or entertainment law. Specifically you need an attorney who know the law on attribution and the law on unfair competition claims under 43(a).
Moral rights (attribution and non-modification) in visual arts (photographs, movies, scuptures) does not apply to books and does not apply to works for hire, and yours seems to be a work for hire.http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/Fisher/integrity/Links/Articles/fielkow.html
This can be an expensive proposition to sue, so you should write the offending entity first . It would be foolish to do this other than through a trademark/copyright specialist attorney, who should be the one to write this demand letter so that the appropriate citations and arguments can be added to hopefully persuade the offender to voluntarily change the false designation of authorship.
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