Copyright Ownership Question

[vegasgal47]

What is the name of your state? Nevada

If I am understanding what the U.S. Copyright website and other sources say:

If I am the original creator of a website (graphics, source code etc.) and have no written or verbal agreement with my client or a "work-for-hire" agreement I am considered the legal copyright owner.

My work was copyrighted as soon as I created it and saved it to my computer and I don't need an agreement with my client stating that I am the owner of the copyright, however they would need a written agreement with me stating #1 I transferred ownership to her; #2 a written work-for-hire agreement that I was her employee.

We don't have and never had a verbal or written agreement granting her ownership of her site. In fact, I specifically told her that no one was to alter my work and they had someone alter it.

Am I correct in my understanding that she infringed upon my copyright and that I am the copyright owner?

Thanks!

 

[divgradcurl]

If I am the original creator of a website (graphics, source code etc.) and have no written or verbal agreement with my client or a "work-for-hire" agreement I am considered the legal copyright owner.

Thats true, unless you were an employee (as defined by applicable state law) and made the website for your employer within the scope of your employment. Also, if the work you did on the website was part of a larger website, so that it was a "collaborative" work, you would not retain any copyright ownership.

We don't have and never had a verbal or written agreement granting her ownership of her site. In fact, I specifically told her that no one was to alter my work and they had someone alter it.

Here's the thing -- when you do a work for a client, the client purchases something -- maybe not ownership of the copyright, but certainly an implied license to use the work, and maybe a license to do more with the work. Just how far an implied license might go will depend on the caselaw in your state. Without a written agreement specifiying the limits of the license, you can't say for sure what the limits of the implied license are.

Am I correct in my understanding that she infringed upon my copyright and that I am the copyright owner?

Maybe, it would depend on the scope of the implied license I discussed above.

 

[vegasgal47]

Thats true, unless you were an employee (as defined by applicable state law) and made the website for your employer within the scope of your employment. Also, if the work you did on the website was part of a larger website, so that it was a "collaborative" work, you would not retain any copyright ownership.

Thank you for the information. It was not part of a larger website. I will check with a local attorney because I'm not sure about the caselaw in my state. She could have purchased ownership but she chose not to.

 

[vegasgal47]

Here's the thing -- when you do a work for a client, the client purchases something -- maybe not ownership of the copyright, but certainly an implied license to use the work, and maybe a license to do more with the work.

I did give her permission to edit the contents of her site, but I didn't give her permission to edit the images and graphics I designed which is what she ended up doing and is my issue.

Thank you again,