Problem Assignment 4
Issue:
Whether Aymes was an employee of Sun Island or an independent contractor? And, who owned the copyright in the program?
Rule:
An independent contractor is a person or entity contracted to perform work for—or provide services to—another entity as a non-employee. As a result, independent contractors must pay their own Social Security and Medicare taxes. When a worker is an independent contractor, the employer can control only the quality or result of the job—not the method through which the work is done. Employees are paid as salaried or hourly, on commission, or a combination, and may be subject to overtime. Employees are taxed on their income, and you must also withhold federal and state income taxes and FICA taxes from them. When the worker is an employee, the payer can mandate that the output occur in a particular place and at a certain time or pace. Copyrights are generally owned by the people who create the works of expression. If a work is created by an employee in the course of his or her employment, the employer owns the copyright. If the work is created by an independent contractor and the independent contractor signs a written agreement stating that the work shall be “made for hire”.
Analysis:
In the case, Aymes was hired by Jonathan Bonelli of Sun Island Sales, Inc., to create a computer program for Sun Island, but he is an independent contractor, not a employee because there is no agreement was reached as to ownership rights in the program that Aymes developed, called CSALIB. And, Aymes did most of his programming at the Sun Island office, which means Aymes can control only the quality or result of the job—not the method through which the work is done. Moreover, Sun Island never paid any employee benefit, such as health insurance, and never withheld federal and state taxes from Aymes’s paycheck; nor did it pay any Social Security taxes on Aymes’s earnings, which all can show Aymes was an independent contractor. Also, when Aymes left Sun Island Sales and demanded compensation for Sun Island’s use of CSALIB, he was required to sign a form releasing all rights in CSALIB so that he can get $14,560 in back wages, which shows Aymes did not sign any written agreement with Sun Island Sales about the copyright in the program. Thus, the copyright of this program still belongs to Aymes because he created this computer program.
Conclusion:
Aymes was an independent contractor and he owned the copyright in the program.
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