Roeslin v. District Of Columbia

921 F.Supp. 793 (1995)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D is responsible for collecting and tabulating employment statistics for the District of Columbia and the D.C. metropolitan area. D does this process manually with lots of logistical trouble. P was hired in November 1986 for the position of a Labor Economist for a four-year term. D received a salary and full benefits. At the time P was hired, he had no computer programming skills, nor was his supervisor, Mr. Groner, aware of whether P had any computer programming skills. P was charged with three tasks: (1) to improve employer response rate to the CES survey; (2) to expand the CES sample size; and (3) to develop industry and occupational employment projections. P's duties were listed as (1) planning and carrying out projects for collecting detailed economic data; (2) evaluating and adapting necessary statistical methods for the preparation of data; (3) planning, organizing, and operating programs (i.e. projects) for the collection, verification, and presentation of data; (4) selecting the most appropriate statistical methods; (5) preparing estimates of employment and unemployment; and (6) preparing various reports and studies. P had discretion in determining how to carry out these duties. P was motivated to create the DC-790 system in June 1988 when he attended a CES conference. P informed his supervisor, Mr. Groner, that he believed a PC-based system could be created for the District's CES surveys. Mr. Groner informed P that creation of a PC-based program was neither feasible nor desirable, and told P not to pursue the idea because he would be too busy with his other job duties and because D had already decided to eventually implement a mainframe system. P told Mr. Groner that he would create a PC-based system on his own time. P wanted to prove that it could be done and to develop job opportunities for himself. In August 1988, P purchased a PC and software with his own funds. P self-taught himself how to program computers using books that he purchased with his own funds. P spent approximately 3,000 hours creating the various modules necessary to complete the DC-790 program and creating enhancements to the system. He completed the final module in January 1991, although most of the modules were completed by 1990. P did all of this work at home. He also tested each module at home, using hypothetical data. P was not offered compensation for the creation of the system. D had nothing to do with creating DC-790. P brought each module into work to test with actual data. Some of the testing and debugging of various modules were done during office hours. Once each module worked P incorporated the modules into the PC system operating at D. Shortly after the DC-790 system became operational, D ceased using office record cards. P also created an operating manual for the DC-790. P received positive performance appraisals based, in part, on his development of the DC-790. Before he began the quest, Mr. Groner's told him that nobody would own the DC-790 system and that it would be in the public domain. P first learned that D asserted a proprietary interest in the program in April of 1991. At that time, he was provided with a copy of a letter from the District to the State of Maine, in which D stated that it had a proprietary interest in the program. D confronted Mr. Groner. He told Mr. Groner that if anyone owned the system (rather than it being in the public domain), then he did, as the author of the program. P requested recognition by the District that he had independent ownership of the program, in exchange for which the District would be allowed free use and distribution of the software. He also requested a promotion. In June of 1991, P placed a copyright notice on the initial screen of the DC-790 system. P notified D's Corporation Counsel and the Mayor's office of his claim of copyright ownership. He also demanded that the District stop using the system. D filed for and received Copyright Registration No. TXu 514 262 for the DC-790 system. D never filed an application to register a copyright for the system. The replacement ACES mainframe system costs in excess of $83,000 a year. The DC-790 system did not incur any fees. P sued D for infringement.