Working From Home - Whose Copyright is it?

Introduction

The law regarding the ownership of copyright has always acknowledged the intellectual property rights of employers when the work is created by their employees.

However, changes to working patterns and the way in which work is undertaken by employees, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to a blurring of the lines between the home and the workplace.

Traditional concepts of an employee ‘being at work’ have changed which has led to lack of clarity about what activity constitutes work for an employer v an employee’s own private activities.

This in turn can create uncertainty as to the ownership of IP created in such circumstances.

This new virtual classroom seminar will lead you through the existing statutory provisions and how the courts have interpreted them.

It will then examine the recent case of Penhallurick v MD5 which dealt with these very issues and consider how it can be applied in a post-COVID-19 working environment in order to protect an employer’s IP ownership rights.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive session will cover the following:

• A practical guide as to employers IP rights and how to ensure those rights are validly created
• How Penhallurick v MD5 has strengthened those employers rights, especially as applied to home working
• The risks of using contractors to create intellectual property, and how to mitigate them

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.