Intellectual Property on Websites

I have a situation where I was on my HOA's BOD and was responsible for setting up and running the neighborhood website for them. I consulted with a number of other "Webmasters" on other neighborhood websites and was told that what I created was my "intellectual property" and I should protect it as such by copyrighting it's content in my name as intellectual property. I did pretty much the same thing as they had done on theirs.

When I went off the BOD the "know it all" secretary had to start paying a company to do what I was doing for free. One of the first things she did (or had done) was to take my name off the copyright notation and replace it with the name of the company that is now providing their service. About 90+ percent of what remains on the website is of my creation. I've told them that they needed to have their company redesign their website for them as I would be using the same format and common info for other neighborhoods that I am trying to help establish websites for. They have (she has) refused saying it would cost them too much to have their company do anything other than maintain what I've already created. (They've pretty much let it fall months behind.)

Anyone know what options I have here? I was willing to help them out by letting them continue to use some of what I had created but with their attitude, I don't want them to use any of it now.

First, this seems a good link: http://www.lawgirl.com/webcopyright.shtml

Your situation is interesting in that I assume you had no contract with the HOA for your website work and I assume you were not compensated?

I am no attorney and this is not legal advice. However, as an example: If a paid employee builds a website for their employer, then the employer normally owns the design. If a paid contractor builds one for an organization, then the contract should spell out who owns the design because either one can.

If you have no contract, then I'm not sure how this would play in court, if it ever went that far. From a personal standpoint, it may be best just to leave this alone and focus your energy on more positive pursuits. You could pursue it, but how much of your time and money would that take and what would you gain in the end?

The main problem is that you were on the board. As a board member, if you designed and built the web site with any other purpose than for the association, you'd probably run into conflict of interest issues, not to mention possible violations of other "duties" required of a board member. (A board member should never financially profit from his or her term on the board). Chalk this one up to experience. You should have stated your intentions to use the format for sale to other associations or if you didn't know, at least the possibility of that, abstained from any vote regarding it, and given your association a free license to use for as long as you were on the board. Then once you went off the board, you could have negotiated a fee for maintaining it. Lessons learned.

Joe