This
information is provided for educational and guidance purposes only. It
is not intended to constitute legal advice nor to substitute the need
for legal counsel. Entire contents Copyright 2006. Martin James
O'Connell.
The following quiz questions are based on decisions
by the Courts.
1. You ask your employees to park in
the fenced-in company lot located across the street from the main
entrance to your building.It’s
a busy public street with a lot automobile and pedestrian traffic. You
provide a shuttle bus for employees that drops them off at the rear of
your building, but most of them simply prefer to walk across the street
to the nearest entrance. One morning, one of your employees is mugged as
she begins to cross the street.
Is she eligible for Workers’ Compensation?
b) No. It occurred on a public street over which your company had no
control.
c) No. She should have taken the shuttle bus to avoid something like
this from happening.
d) Yes. She was in the course of her employment.
2. At the end of their graveyard
shift, a number of employees routinely stopped by the company cafeteria
to pick up breakfast on their way home.One morning, Ms. Java made her usual stop in the cafeteria to
pick up some steaming hot coffee.
On her way from the cafeteria into the hall that led to the exit, she
saw a friend also on his way out. Attempting to get his attention, she
raised her arm that held the cup of coffee, inadvertently spilling it on
herself.As a result, she
sustained first and second degree burns on her hand and arm. Is her
injury eligible for Workers’ Compensation?
b) Yes. She got her coffee from the company cafeteria, and that’s what
caused her burns.
c) It depends on whether or not she was careless and did not put a top
on her coffee cup.
d) Yes. She was still on company property.
3.
The
personnel assistant in the Human Resources office develops an
“Employee Manual,” a project that she’s worked on everyday at the office
for the past three weeks. The CEO finds it to be a brilliant original work
that should be available in every office in the company.He orders the HR Director to make multiple copies and send it off.
The HR Director, a cautious soul, wonders if she can do that.
a)She can. The company owns the
copyright.
b)Maybe, with the author’s
permission. Both the author and the company own the
copyright.
c)She must have the author’s
permission. The author owns the copyright.
4.
The CEO notices that the
main entry lobby is entirely too stark and needs some artwork to “make a
statement.” After asking around, he finally locates a respected, known
artist to do the job. Because he wants something bold (“large”), he
offers the artist the use of the company shop as a place to work and the
assistance of employees. The artist uses the shop and some of the
company’s tools to create “Bold Statement,” an impressive blue ten-foot
sculpture comprised of company widgets and whatnots. Art critics love the
piece and so does the CEO, except for the color.He asks the Paint Shop to paint “Bold Statement” red.Can they? a) Yes. The company owns the rights
to the sculpture.
b) Maybe, with the artist’s
permission. Both the artist and the company own the
rights.
c) No.The artist owns the rights to the sculpture.
Jackson v. Univ. Hosp. of Cleveland (1997), 122 Ohio App.3d 371.
3.
a) She can. The company owns the
copyright.
This is work prepared by an employee within the Assistant’s scope of
employment duties.
4.
c)
No.The artist owns the rights to the sculpture.
ONLY the author of a work of visual art owns the rights to it, whether or
not the author owns the copyright – unless the artist could be found to
have been an employee under common lawtest. A key would be the extent to which the company or CEO
exercised control of the artist. The work must also be of “recognized
stature.”
