If a former employer filmed lectures I gave and classes taught, and is now using the footage to train staff and recruit clients, is it in my right to ask them to stop?
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If a former employer filmed lectures I gave and classes taught, and is now using the footage to train staff and recruit clients, is it in my right to ask them to stop?
I worked in an after school tutoring center. I never signed any kind of document approving the footage, let alone the use of it for monetary purposes. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be upset. But I just found out that DVD’s have been burned with the footage of me lecturing and teaching, and is now being used and sold w/ a curriculum package to other tutoring centers. Is it in my right to ask them to stop using footage of me?
Asked on July 23, 2015 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
Gregory Abbott / Consumer Law Northwest
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
Much depends upon the exact details of your employment agreement. If you were paid to produce these training materials, then the employer may well own them outright and is free to sell or use them as they wish. If, however, you retained any rights to the materials or invested non-compensated time and effort into them, you may have a claim. Review everything with a local attorney if you really want to know your rights.
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