Fired Webmaster closes Website

[mmonroe]

So you're hired to do a website, freelanced of course. You're then paid monthly for general maintenance and upkeep. Later, you're fired from that job so that the person who hired you can have their son take over. Of course, it's your creation, your graphic work... you still have all of the account passwords and you take down the site. Now you're threatened with being sued for destroying intellectual property. But who's intellectual property is it? Your's or theirs? There was no contract, just an exchange of ideas and words then money for a completed project. What can happen out of this?

[TaoMaas]

If the guy was paid to create the website, then I would think that the person who hired him owns the rights to the site.

[mmonroe]

hmm... but yet, with Intellectual Property Rights and no lease (contract) to his artistic work (the website), does that person own it, or the creator is the question....

[BBatesokc]

Sounds to me like the artist is trying to screw their client.

I used to own a t-shirt shop years ago. I created designs for resellers who lost money on them and I created designs for clients who made lots of money off of the designs.

Occasionally a client would drop us as a printer and choose to go with someone else. I had the separations, the screens, the original artwork files, etc. However, not once did I consider that artwork I created mine unless it was agreed upfront that the client was not charged for creative services (which happened on occasion, especially with schools).

If the client in this case paid for creative then that work product is the clients.

Sometimes you just have to be a honest person and stop looking for loopholes and ways to screw people (for whatever reason) and just do what is right.

[bluedogok]

Unless an agreement is explicitly spelled out (preferably on paper with signatures) it would be hard to claim any IP rights since there was an exchange of money and an implied contract. He pretty much paid for the IP with the payment(s). It's no longer the creators "site" as it has become the customers site. That's the nature of freelance work. At least the creator got paid for awhile, to me the only way they could disable the site is for non-payment, any kind of payment means some sort of agreement was made.

[kevinpate]

the webguru in question might wish to check out the phrase 'work for hire' in relation to IP rights.

[SoonerDave]

The website and derivatives of it are a "work product" derived from the direction of the employer. Only way the webmaster gets out of this is if he has some sort of document saying he retained all intellectual property rights...

[Karried]

hmmm, If we are hired to do a construction project, consult and advise on the project, install the material, complete the job and possibly maintain the property a short while after we've finished the initial job and then told we're no longer needed,.. well we've done the job we were paid to do.

I'm not sure how we could go back in ( we still have the keys) and remove the material and ceilings and walls ( that we were paid to create or install) without getting into some serious trouble.

[mmonroe]

HMM..we'll, i've never ran into this problem and was asked about it. I didn't know the answer so the best result was to ask okctalk... i've gotten my answer I guess.