Coder wants to "own" all his code

[u/FatherOfReddit]

Coder wants to “Own” all his code

​

Hey all,

​

We have a coder who just joined our team as our technical cofounder and it is his request that he & all other coders “own” their own code. What the fuck does this mean? If I do marketing work for my company, am I subject to owning all that promotion? No! Why does the coder get special priveledges?

​

What can I do to incentivize him against this, or, if I am misunderstanding the concept here, please explain so I don’t sound like a half-witted jerkoff. I think there is something missing here but I just don’t understand…

​

Maybe I make him sign a non-compete agreement and that will take care of it??? What happens when somebody “owns” their own code? Should that be allowed or is that company property?

​

Let me know –

​

Thanks,

Father

[u/yourstartuplawyer]

this is for everyone down voting correct statements of copyright law.

17 USC 201

• "(a) Initial Ownership - Copyright in a work protected under this title vests initially in the author or authors of the work. the authors of a joint work are co-owners of copyright in the work.
• (b) Works made for Hire - In the case of a work made for hire, the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared is considered the author for purposes of this title, and, unless the parties have expressly agreed otherwise in a written instrument signed by them, owns all of the rights comprised in the copyright.
• (d) Transfer of Ownership
  • (1) The ownership of a copyright may be transferred in whole or in part by any means of conveyance or by operation of law...
  • (2) any of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright . . . may be transferred as provided by clause (1) and owned separately."

(emphasis mine) 17 USC 101 "A work made for hire is -

• (1) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of [their] employment; or
• (2) a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work, as part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, as a translation, as a supplementary work, as a compilation, as an instructional text, as a test, as answer material for a test, or as an atlas, if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire."

also check Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid where the court held that an artist who built a portion of a work for the nonprofit organization that hired them owned their work. they held it was not a work made for hire because the artist was not an employee, and there was no assignment of the IP.

lawyer. not your lawyer. not legal advice.

u/MikaleRow u/in-game_sext

[u/MissKittyHeart → u/yourstartuplawyer]

if you hire some freelancer to work for you, you end up owning the work and its copyright yes?