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It’s a
basic fact: you own what you create unless you sign it away. However, a lot of
people don’t realize that just about every employer asks you to give up at
least some of your rights, and just about every working librarian is an
employee of some sort. As such, it behooves us to maximize our copy rights.
Works for Hire
“Works
for hire” means intellectual property created as part of your job duties. The
rule of thumb is that employers own brochures, social media posts, videos, slide
decks, syllabi, and other content that you create for the marketing or teaching
you are paid to do. This means that you might need permission to reuse these
works if you change jobs. Note: your employer must identify the works-for-hire provision
as a condition of employment, and you
must sign off on this condition. Otherwise, your works are not for hire.
Unpaid Works
Generally,
employers cannot claim ownership of works created while employees are off the
clock. If you come home from your 9-to-5 and write a blog post, for example, then
you own that blog post, no questions asked. But many employers claim ownership
of materials created “using company resources.” So if you use your work
computer while on lunch break, then you are using company resources. What if you’re
operating your personal laptop but using the building’s Wi-Fi or electricity? In
that case, I doubt a reasonable employer would claim ownership … but personal
hotspots are more secure anyway.
Contracted Works
Are you
an independent contractor? Then you own your intellectual property unless the
contract says differently. For example, when I teach webinars for the State of
Florida, I agree to grant the State nonexclusive distribution and reuse rights;
however, my contract plainly states that I own and may reuse any materials
(e.g., slide decks) created for the webinar.
Scholarly Works
Do you
work for a college or university? Are you faculty or professional staff? If so,
then you should own any peer-reviewed articles or other scholarly materials you
create. Most universities exempt scholarship from the default works-for-hire
policy, even if scholarly output is an expectation for employment. Notwithstanding
this exemption, universities commonly claim the right to use your scholarship
for their own purposes, such as marketing or internal research. And
universities generally do lay claim to your syllabi and teaching materials. Don’t
assume a blanket exemption exists for faculty.
Know your rights
Information
is power. If you are already an employee, review your employer’s policies or
talk to Human Resources. If you are a prospective employee, then ask to see a
standard contract or the employee handbook. Most government agencies have this
information publicly available online, so knowing your rights comes easily. But
if you have to ask, be sure to ask nicely—throwing legalese at bosses or HR is
a sure way to ruffle feathers.
Negotiate Better Rights
Try to
negotiate better rights and write these terms into your contract before accepting
a job or freelance gig. For the contentedly employed, promotions are an
opportunity to renegotiate existing contracts. I know a former State of
Nebraska employee who got all his output released under a Creative Commons
license! Not all organizations are willing or able to grant such exceptions,
but it usually doesn’t hurt to ask. At least try to retain moral rights, especially
the right to have your intellectual property attributed to you. Or write
language into the contract giving you distribution rights without ownership.
When you
create something, it’s yours. As employees, let’s work to keep it that way.
Michael Rodriguez is an Electronic Resources
Librarian at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. Previously he worked as
E-Learning Librarian at Hodges University in Florida. Michael is an independent
copyright trainer and consultant, a 2015 Library Journal Reviewer of
the Year, and an avid hiker and cyclist. He tweets @topshelver.
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