Legal Ownership of Database if I'm not a developer (1 Viewer)

GSTEEL320

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Hi,

I've developed a database as a side project. I'm not a developer, nor do I work in an IT dept.

This was purely a feasibility project. It turns out that the database worked, was adopted by work, and now seems to be taking a bit of a life of its own.

I was called into a meeting today, they're now talking about using the database as a basis for a much bigger project.

Can anyone offer where I stand with this ?, I have concerns about my liability in the event it all goes t!ts up, and I also have a vested interest if they take my work, which was largely developed in my free time at home, and produce a viable alternative to existing working practices.

Thanks in advance, I searched online but only found answers for existing developers who has signed contracts transferring their intellectual rights to the company that employed them. That isn't the case with me, who works in a completely non-related department.
 

theDBguy

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Hi,

Please don’t take my word for it because it is best to get advice from a lawyer but the way I would interpret it is as long as you used any, even just a fraction, of the time developing the application using company’s time or equipment, then they may own it, or at least have rights to it as well. It may not explicitly state it in your employment contract, but the company lawyers can probably imply it from any of the “catch all” phrases in the contract that nobody reads.
 

pbaldy

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Also not a lawyer, but I wonder if the moment you brought it from home and put it on the company's computers, you gave up ownership of it. Given your description of it being a great tool, I'd talk to your boss about the situation. I'd expect they would want to reward you for providing such a good tool, and make sure you're willing to work on it further.
 

The_Doc_Man

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Once you put it on a company machine and allowed them to use it and turn it into a very useful product, you voided any rights you might have had UNLESS you have an employment contract that explicitly preserves your intellectual property rights. Pardon my cynicism, but that usually happens only after pigs have flown.

That doesn't stop you from approaching the bosses and parlaying your skills into a job that is somehow better than what you have now. Either more pay or fewer forced overtime hours or a key to the executive washroom... something of value "in kind" that allows the company to acknowledge your contribution without paying royalties.

You would have to have established some sort of contract to protect your rights for what you wrote, but if you get a reputation as being a bright, helpful person, you can get job security and salary improvements.

Yeah, I know it sucks big-time that you can't squeeze the company, but regarding the times when opportunity knocked? That door has already been opened and closed again.
 

Dreamweaver

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I agree with the doc man but there is a good chance you'll come out on top as the company will want further works done so you are in a good position where you can get a better position in the company and a better wage or make an agreement in writing to futher develope the project in your own time.

Was the project lock when you let them use it???
 

Galaxiom

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Producing something of real value to your employer at a trivial fraction of the time and cost of a "proper" project makes you a tangible asset.

You have a great opportunity for furthering your career in your current place of employment if you handle it right. You are now a data expert in their perception (or they should be by the time you complete the negotiations for your promotion). Moreover you know their systems and will become the "go to".

I built a niche like this where I work. I knew very little when I got started. My first apps worked but were so clumsy compared to my latest work. This very site helped take me from a beginner to level where I believe I can do anything with data.I am grateful to my bosses for letting me develop on the job instead of employing a qualified expert.

Don't expect a big promotion right away. You are probably better off developing your skills more rather than raising their expectations and putting you under too much pressure to perform.

Chances are that if you spend some more time learning you will begin to see how much better you could engineer the tool you built if you started again. Keep those ideas for yourself in case you need a change later. Employers never want you to start again in anyway.

However don't forget that working for a regular wage has a lot of benefits compared to what you imagine you might do with the development on your own.
 

The_Doc_Man

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To add to previous comments: There are two paths in this scenario.

You are already on the early stages of the "helpful, skilled employee" path. The eventual but slow-arriving benefits are based on making yourself more valuable to the company and having them reward you with better salary, job title promotion (which leads to better salary), more prestige within the company (which gives you more choices in what you do), and some level of improved job security i.e. predictable cash flow. The down side is that you don't own that particular bit of intellectual property.

Just remember this: You are NEVER EVER paid what you think you are worth in any employment situation. You are ALWAYS paid based on what your employer thinks your job is worth. You can be the best janitor in the state, but you will still be paid as a janitor. The path up and out of a low position is to prove you can do more than you WERE doing in your current position. And you just did that.

The other major path is "small-footprint entrepreneur" - which might lead to the bosses asking you whether you work for the company or do you want to work for yourself. You keep the intellectual rights - but this usually means keeping the responsibility and LIABILITY associated with making a marketable product. If your product needs an upgrade, either you implement it or they seek an alternate product with a bigger support staff so they can get better response. If your product breaks, either you fix it or they stop using it. If it breaks big-time, you might be hit with a lawsuit for damages resulting from errors in your program's treatment of money issues.

Your cash flow depends on you not sitting still in a world of heavy competition. You are also exposed to the world of cut-throat legalities because the kind of licensing agreement you need to protect yourself is best framed by a lawyer with some experience in creating such license-oriented agreements.

There is also the cost of advertising since selling a single product to a single company instantly falls into the "all your eggs in one basket" category of business strategy. Don't trip, because if you do, the basket and all of the eggs go flying.

There is the third path - the circus high-wire act where you try to tip-toe between the two cases. That never lasts. It eventually devolves into one or the other of the two cases I just outlined.

I'd say you are doing yourself a favor by being a "company person" unless you REALLY like the idea of being on your own with no guaranteed source of income.
 

isladogs

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Whilst I agree with all the previous comments, you just MAY hit lucky in terms of intellectual copyright ...as I did.

Whilst working as a Deputy Head in my last teaching post, I developed a series of Access apps initially mainly for my own personal use. These were done purely in my own time & were created to allow me to do aspects of my job far better e.g. data analysis, management of a curriculum enrichment programme, student payments etc. I got no additional money (or time) for doing these ...but then nor was I asked to create the apps initially.

Like Galaxiom, I wasn't an Access programmer (indeed I was completely self taught) & initially the apps weren't very good. Gradually other staff saw their value and, as I learnt more, I improved the apps significantly to the point where several were used across the whole school & then later sold on to other schools. I negotiated having full control of the software and, possibly because I was in a senior position, this was agreed. Yes - I was very lucky.

When I retired from teaching back in 2011, I took the rights to continue developing and selling the apps to other schools. Whilst I certainly haven't made a fortune doing so, this did enable me to develop my business and later to expand the range of applications available.

Like Galaxiom, I consider myself lucky that events went in my favour. The fact that almost all of the development work was done in my own time on top of my contracted workload was of course a significant factor in this.

Good luck with the next stage.
If it proves successful in your place of work, it is likely you will benefit in terms of job status and/or financially in the long term
 

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