Who Owns Weblog Content?

dirvish writes "Information Week has a story discussing copyright issues and legal rights associated with employee blogs and RSS readers. Recently, some companies have come out with formal weblog policies and others have fired employees for inappropriate blogging. With an increase in official company blogs, and some large companies like Microsoft and Google offering popular blogging services, the issues become even more clouded. Some bloggers are beginning to speak out about corporate and government control, others would probably prefer to not risk their jobs."

Comments

The company should own things that concern them

[chris09876]

People should really treat blogs just like anything that they would say in public. Most companies have IP agreements, or nondisclosure agreements. If an employee posts something that violates that agreement, then the company can ask them to take it down. People have a right to talk about their personal lives, but when you work for someone else, you usually have to agree not to disclose private information about them. Blogs are just a natural extension of that rule.

Personal Websites

[SteveX]

A blog is no different than a personal website; folks have had those since the dawn of the web.

Read your employment agreement; if you're still not sure talk to your HR folks. Better safe than sorry.

It depends.

[BlueThunderArmy]

I would think who owns the content would depend on some very simple criteria, but ones which often lead to legal battles.

If an employee blogs for or as a representative of her company, the company owns the material.

If an employee blogs on her own time, and on matters unrelated to the company, the author owns the material.

If an employee blogs on her own time, but on matters related to the company and identifying herself with the company, she owns the material but will likely face consequences.

If it is done on company time

[ShatteredDream]

Then doesn't it belong to the employer?

Seriously, why do we need something like a blogger's "bill of rights?" If you do something on your employer's time that isn't related to your job, then you should consider yourself lucky that either your employer doesn't know or care. You could lose your job for blogging at work, unless maybe your blog is promoting the company's products and services and some manager thinks that is just good free advertisement.

The woman who proposed that blogger's bill of rights got fired because she posted on her blog pictures that could be offensive to some of her employer's customers and let people know where she worked. That's just about one of the things that you DONT DO online. You just don't post comments that can be connected with your employer unless your employer has given you the green light to do so.

Re:If it is done on company time

[Quasar1999]

sweet... so if I engage in 'adult activity' at work, and 9 months later a kid appears... since I did it on company time, it's the company's kid? AWESOME! :D

Lesson from anon.penet.fi

[powdered toast dude]

Anonymity on the Internet is a dubious prospect at best in most cases. Unless you're using a hijacked or unpaid public connection, I recommend you assume you are speaking your views as yourself publicly, and accept accountability for doing so.

Remember anon.penet.fi? As soon as the heat came down, so did the veil of anonymity.

$0.02,
ptd