Near the end of 2011 there was a large legal case looming that got the business world’s attention.
Here is the question: Can a company cash in on, and claim ownership of, an employee’s social media account, and if so, what does that mean for workers who are increasingly posting to Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus during work hours?
Not an easy question for sure. Here are some of the details of the case. The employee, who authored a Twitter account on behalf of the company, claimed, after he terminated employment with the company, that he should be paid a percentage of the revenue earned from the account. He says the company gave him permission to continue “tweeting” yet he changed the Twitter account name to his name only. As a result of his efforts, the company continue to make revenue and he felt he should be compensated for a percentage of the business realized from these efforts. The company rejected that and filed a suit against him saying the Twitter account was a customer list and so property of the company and asked for compensation for the use of the list.
The courts have not decided on this one yet but we can certainly glean some lessons from this one:
1. If you don’t have a social media policy, now is the time to develop one.
2. If there are positions in the company that are responsible for communication with your clients using social media, have them sign a document that states that the company owns the account and if they should leave the company, the account and all future revenue, stays with the company.
3. If employees are writing content, the company should decide the account name and when possible, avoid using the employee’s name on the account.
4. “Inspect what you expect.” If you are going to have a policy, monitor it!
We’re looking out for your best interest on this one. Let’s make this the first lesson we all learn in 2012!
