To be annoyed someone has lifted some of my work and used it in a presentation without at least asking?

[Lex345]

Fully prepared to be told I'm a grumpy, joyless shit lol

I have a niche knowledge base that is not common for where I work and I have been working on projects bringing some of my expertise into the field. Part of this was a training suite which has been going on for well over a year.

This week, I was on an unrelated training session and my ACTUAL EXACT work (not changed, exactly the same) was used. I didn't know it had been used in this way and no one has asked. I didn't even know it had been disseminated.

AIBU to be a bit peeved? (I am also a bit flattered, but mainly peeved)?

Or you could see what the law has to say, here is a recent example: https://sterling-law.co.uk/successful_cases/copyright-disputes-between-employers-and-employees/.

The copyright is not yours if you didn't licence it OP, regardless of how many posters suggest it is.

Is this work you created as an employee of the company and it is being disseminated by other employees of the company?

I can’t recall seeing the names of authors on in-house power point training materials in the past. And even training materials from external providers are normally credited to the institution that created them, not individual authors. Is it normal in your workplace for these sorts of materials to be credited to individuals?

If you created the work as an employee of the company, it isn’t “your” work, it’s the company’s. In this situation I think you’re over reacting a bit and will look a bit silly demanding to be asked for permission when surely the company would want employees to be able to use their material (which it is, since you created it while employed by them). Though contacting them to point out they are using it incorrectly would be reasonable. And if it is likely to affect your promotion prospects or the like then ensuring the reach of your work is known by the appropriate people is important - but you’ve already told your manager.

If you created it in your own time or as part of a contract with them where you retain copyright, then it’s a very different matter. Contacting the trainer would be totally appropriate. And you should probably have a think about how you protect your IP and ensure you are credited in a way that best reflects on you and might lead to further work/payment. Think about it as a marketing opportunity.

If she did it as an employee it isn’t her intellectual property. It’s her employers.

Did the people giving the training session ask for feedback? If so that would be an ideal opportunity to comment both on the lifting of your material and its misleading use.

Oh, ok but how are people credited then? I her manager isn't bothered, how can she say,' this is my work'? I worked in a different industry so am not sure of the protocols.

As an employee you aren’t normally entitled to demand credit on the work you produce for the company be disseminated with the work. It’s up to the company whether they want to do that. OP can say “this is my work” to her manager, just as most people do with work they complete for an employer.

You could tackle it by suggesting you put it back into context and make a mini presentation on this aspect to ensure it's looked at correctly.

This happened to me. They took credit for my work to go in their promotion case. And got promoted over me.

This really isn't about being credited. See previous post.

I will check the view history to see how it has been disseminated. I can then make a decision as to whether I want to use my expertise in future projects at the risk of content being used in a way I might not be in agreement with. This in no way affects my contractual obligations or my ability to perform the duties I am employed to do, so I can choose whether to share skills and knowledge I gained elsewhere or not.

This is more of a professional issue.

You hadn't publicly sent this around for use, it was still "draft" and someone presented it as finished/the company view.

so very unprofessional and i'd lock my documents down until finished /approved from now on. "to prevent misunderstandings"

if bosses want me to assist someone in training then fine -we can collaborate on that.

I can choose whether to share skills and knowledge I gained elsewhere or not.
Unless you were taken on as an unskilled person with no experience required on the job spec, you might find iyour experience was a factor in why you were hired, and that support is required as part of your role. I really think you need legal advice before you take this attitude to your workplace, you need to be crystal clear about what your contract says, and what that actually means, before you start stomping your feet about your perceived rights.

I think I'd have drawn attention to the fact it was my work at the presentation.

There is absolutely no way they could force me to share my knowledge in a completely unrelated, professional field.

I don't think they needed to ask, but there should be a citation. People use people's work all the time. I use charts from HMRC, quote blogs and articles no point writing your own if someone has already done the work. But you need to acknowledge that in the presentation. I wouldn't know who to ask in HMRC for example, just add a citation.

I hope it is the only example of the plagiarist doing this without normal courtesy.

This

Generally work produced in the course of employment belongs to the company and not the employee personally. The company can use and adapt work produced by any employee in anyway they choose.

The only issue in OP’s situation would be if the presenter said they had produced the work personally.

In your OP you said "I have a niche knowledge base that is not common for where I work and I have been working on projects bringing some of my expertise into the field. Part of this was a training suite which has been going on for well over a year."

Now it's suddenly "completely unrelated" and no expectation to "share my knowledge". Not making much sense here OP. I'll repeat again, you need some legal advice here to understand your position.

It is never ok to share work without due credit to the authors. Surely everyone who has ever completed an essay knows this? It is so wrong on so many levels to pass work off as your own.
And if you are credited to do training you should be especially wary of this.
I agree if doesn't look like it's done maliciously, more naivety, but even still, you need to make management aware of this so the correct credits are applied.

If you leave it, it will grow arms and legs, and as you say, there's a danger that further members of the organisation will think it's YOU copying THEIR work

Let me be a bit clearer. I have a professional degree as a nurse and had a successful career in this, until covid happened, when I was managing an independant care home. I won't go into too much detail but I left the profession.

My current job is not in the health care industry and is office based. I was not hired because of my degree, nor is it a requirement of the role. There are thousands of employees with the same job title as me that do not have my degree or experience. It could not possibly be argued that my expertise is a requirement of my job title; however over time it has become apparent some of my knowledge and skills are adaptable and useful to enrich knowledge and skills of others.

Does this help?

This.

If this is about ensuring the wrong information isn’t getting out there you probably need to be discussing how training is done organization wide. Having authors gatekeep the materials they create is a poor solution for an organization as people move on. That they had a someone presenting on information they didn’t understand properly seems to be more the issue here, not that they used your material.

I would put your signature on all your work and make it view only so it can’t just be copied. Use the pp’s words re thanks but in future please reference me so people can contact the right person etc.

Legal advice!! This is just mumsnet, you need to present your actual contract and details to a lawyer.

Particularly if you are giving healthcare input without the latest training, and it's a different industry where your employer's professional indemnity insurance may exclude this.

It isn't health care advice, and if nursing was required I would have to be registered with NMC, which I no longer am.
I don't need to get legal advice here. I could, if I chose, not work on future projects. I haven't decided this is what I will do either, I enjoy sharing my skills.

THis happened to me in a slightly different context. Someone used my work and presented it as their own for their assessment - at which I was present. As it happened so was the person who assessed me in the past.

There was an uncomfortable silence following the reminder by the assessor, to the audience of other trainees and supervisors, that all work presented should be orginal and not that of others.
And I wasn't flattered. I was furious!