Today’s comment came from a busy professional and an entrepreneur:
How can I get credit for work I’ve done that someone else took credit for?
There are several versions of this issue. Your employer could have taken credit for your work; your co-worker would have taken credit for your work; and your business competitor could have taken credit for your work. In all three versions, the solutions are very similar. Let’s take a look at each.
Your employer could have taken credit for your work
If you are dealing with your employer or company, you need to check your contract with them. Most employers pay you for your work. Therefore, even though you did the work, they own the results. This also includes any patents, published books, etc that you have authored during your regular work hours.
- Check your agreement with them.
If they have paid you for the work, they own the piece. Review the contract or employment agreement. Most times they state the ownership expectations.
- Keep records on authenticity of the work.
If you can demonstrate your authorship in a time sensitive way then that will clarify who came up with the ideas first.
- Talk to them.
It’s always best to have a heart-to-heart with them about the issue. Often times it’s a miscommunication or misunderstanding. More often than not, the offending party (once realizing their oversight) will do their best to amend.
Once again – it goes back to what you agreed to in your employment agreement.
Don’t have an employment agreement? Use that one-on-one (heart-to-heart) to co-create one on the spot. If you would like to keep your intellectual property rights, include that in your agreement. This will eliminate similar issues in the future.
Your co-worker would have taken credit for your work
It’s important to realize that ideas are free. It’s what you do with the ideas and the results of your efforts that matter. Often times many people have the same ideas without “stealing it from others”. They may experience similar situations that lead you to those thoughts. They may have been working in the same field or shared the same background that leads you to those same thoughts. Just because someone ends up with a similar solution doesn’t necessarily mean that they stole your work.
In either case, preventive medicine is best. It’s much harder to correct, after the damage has been done.
- Continue to share your work progress with your manager on your regular one-on-one meetings. If you are transparent with your manager, then he knows who did the work on this project.
- Keep good records on your designs.
If you can demonstrate your authorship in a time sensitive way then that will clarify who came up with the ideas first.
- Talk to the co-worker about it.
Perhaps it was just a coincidence and perhaps you can collaborate on the next steps. Also share the fact that you have been sharing your project progress with your manager all along. If your co-worker is knowingly taking credit for your work AND they know that your manager has been involved in your work – it’s likely they will back-off.
What if it’s a business competitor that is taking the credit?
- Consistently place your copyright or trademark on your work. This is one way to illustrate authenticity.
- Keep design records of your concepts, prototypes, etc. This will help if you decide to go through litigation.
- Talk to them about it. Perhaps some type of affiliation or partnership can be derived by this synchronicity of ideas.
Conclusion:
It’s much harder to correct, after the damage has been done. Therefore, keep good records, copywright your work, and share early prototypes, demos, and specs with trusted individuals. If you are in business, ask those individuals, you are sharing your ideas with, to sign a NDA or confidentiality agreement.
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