Employer Owns Software Program

CK - Washington.   An employee created a software program for his employer. He performed the service, in part, at his home office and not necessarily during business hours. The employee claimed ownership in the program. The server on which the program ran crashed shortly after a nastigram from the employee to the employer. The employer proved that an outside attack had targeted that server at the time. Based on these facts, the Cologne Court of Civil Appeals decided that the employer owns the program. Further, it confirmed a cease and desist order against the employee with respect to attacks on the employer's systems. The court dismissed the employee's arguments that §69b of the Copyright Statute could not generate ownership in the employer because the employee was hired as a technician, not a programmer, and further, that the work done outside of regular business hours would prevent the ownership from originating in the employer. This decision of February 25, 2005 in the matter 6 U 132/04, first reported in Carola Ernesti's IT-Blawg, helps clarify the sometimes murky German rules on employer ownership of software programs.