Re: FLASH: Business practices...

[Laura Mollett]

> I was wondering what a Flash developers common practice was concerning the

> original .FLA files should he/she move to another job? In other words, if I

> should leave my current job, would I be obligated to leave the .FLA files of

> this new site I created to the next web master who takes my place?


Yeah, you probably have to. It might depend on the specifics of your

contract, but I imagine you're considered a "work for hire" employee which

means that everything you create under the terms of your employment is owned

by your employers. Not providing the fla files is more of a freelance

thing... where a company or individual is sub-contracted for a specific

piece of work by another company or individual, they aren't work for hire

employees and thus only obligated to provide the end product (depending on

the contract) and retain their rights to their creative efforts. Think of it

like hiring a photographer to take a particular picture for you... he

doesn't have to give you the negatives; he just sells you the right to use

the image in specified pieces (again, according to the contract). But if the

photographer actually works for the company (if it was a photography studio,

for example) and create the work with company equipment, etc., then the

negatives are owned by the studio, not the individual photographer.


Another note: I heard recently from the advertising agency where I work that

some companies are suing employees who use pieces created for them in

portfolios for copyright infringement (I find this mind-boggling, but I

don't know the specifics of the cases). My company is cool, and because of

that specifically gave me permission to include work I create for them in my

portfolio. It mightn't hurt others to check with their employers if they can

and make sure they have that permission (an ounce of prevention...)


All that kind of stuff is real complicated. I'm not a lawyer. There's a

lawyer named Ivan Hoffman who specializes in internet law, and you might

find something helpful on his site: http://www.ivanhoffman.com


Laura


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