Ninth Court of Appeals Rules on Work for Hire clause under the Copyright Act.

In JustMed, Inc. v. Byce, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 6976, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided on whether JustMed, Inc. (“JustMed”), a small technology start-up company, or Michael Byce (“Byce”), a software developer working remotely, owned the source code that Byce engineered while working for the start-up company. The issue focused on whether Byce was an employee when he developed the source code or whether he was an independent contractor for the purposes of determining whether his work was considered a “work for hire” under the Federal Copyright Act (“Act”). The Ninth Circuit agreed with the District Court and concluded that Byce qualified as an employee of JustMed when he wrote the software and thus, JustMed owned the copyright to the software.

In reaching this decision, the Ninth Circuit distinguished between technology start-up businesses, which are formed and operated in an informal manner, and more established companies, where there are greater formalities regarding employment. While the Ninth Circuit analyzed and weighed the various factors used to determine whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor, it gave less weight to the facts that would have established Byce as an independent contractor because of “the way JustMed conducts its business” as a start-up technology company.

As a result, it seems that the decision has now created a higher burden for engineers and programmers to assert their independent rights to the intellectual property they develop.

For additional information, visit:
http://newmedialaw.proskauer.com/

Volume VIII

Ninth Court of Appeals Rules on Work for Hire clause under the Copyright Act.