Recruitment and Copyright — What You Need to Know?

Many people looking for job (especially in creative fields) have likely encountered situations where a job posting asks potential employers, in addition to a resume, cover letter, or portfolio, to also prepare a project or advertising slogan.

Moreover, sometimes recruiters, when inviting you for an interview, demand even more creativity and ingenuity: they ask you to come up with several ideas for developing their company or improving its image.

Nowadays, finding a job is difficult, so many people approach such tasks ambitiously, sending polished projects to potential employers and presenting genuinely good and innovative ideas during interviews. How is copyright protection for the work ensured in this context?

While the issue of an employer using our work and ideas after we’ve been hired doesn’t evoke such strong emotions, the appropriation of concepts and works during the recruitment process matters to many.

What happens to the results of our labor if we remain unemployed? Does the future employer have the right to use them? Although the answer seems obvious — no, they don’t — in reality, the opposite happens: potential employers massively copy ideas and works presented during the recruitment process. Unfortunately, defending your rights can often be very difficult.

Idea and Copyright

Nowadays, a good idea can be worth a fortune if used correctly. What does this mean? Copyright protects works, i.e., any manifestation of creative activity of an individual nature, embodied in any form, regardless of value, purpose, and manner of expression.

Thus, a work will be the creative consequence of our actions, the result of our creative work. The work must be fixed in some form — this means that fixing the work (saving it on a tangible medium) is not necessarily required.

The creation of a work occurs at the moment of its manifestation. Thus, a report presented at a seminar or an improvised song during a concert will be considered a work. Can an idea that we present to a potential employer during an interview also be considered a work?

Expert Opinion

We are talking about situations where, at the request of a potential employer, we prepare projects, plans, slogans — that is, essentially, works within the meaning of the Copyright Act. Can an employer use such works without our consent? NO. Even if we are hired, we still own the copyright to these works.

In the case of employment, such works will not be recognized as employee works because they were created before the start of the employment relationship. Therefore, if the employer wants to use them, they should conclude a copyright transfer agreement or a license agreement with the author. Otherwise, the employee cannot effectively defend their rights. A similar situation arises when a potential employer does not hire the candidate but uses the works they submitted.

Idea Theft: A Common Problem with Weak Protection

Unfortunately, the scenario where potential employers exploit ideas presented during interviews is all too common. Many creators find their concepts used without permission or credit, largely because proving ownership and enforcing copyright in these pre-employment situations can be challenging and costly. Our firm specializes in navigating these complexities, helping individuals protect their intellectual property and assert their rights when their creative work is unfairly appropriated during the recruitment process. Contact us and we will help you with copyright protection.