Ownership of software?

[rhoulihan]

I need advice and possibly the assistance of a law firm quickly. I am in MA.

I will give you a brief outline of the problem. I have been working for a company as a developer/ head of development, this company is going to be filing for bankruptcy next week, we have received our termination letters. I believe that my employment contract has been breached which stated that all intellectual property rights remain with the company.

The breaches I believe are:
1. the CEO refused to put my request for cashing in my share options to the board of directors
2. Wage checks bounced a few times, eventually being paid
3. The development team specified in my contract was smaller than specified, two people quit and were not replaced causing my workload to greatly increase.

Are these items enough for me to claim part or all of the intellectual property rights of the software? or can I claim/register the software in my name?

The company is in talks with another company where the second company is planning on buying the software out of bankruptcy at the beginning of next week. So I need to move fast. Thanks for your assistance.

 

[loku]

I would suggest you engage a lawyer specializing in intellectual property to advise you. This one takes specialized knowledge.

The problem is that under the Copyright Act, a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his/her employment belongs to the employer, unless there is an agreement specifying otherwise. The result of this is that the employer’s ownership of the copyright is given by statute and even if there was no contract, the employer would own the copyright. It follows that even if you show a breach of the employer, that would void the contract, the law gives the employer the copyright anyway.

There may possibly be some cases that hold that if there is a contract and the employer breaches it, then the copyright belongs to the author; therefore, you could have the right to it. A specialist may know this, or may have to research it.