Licence your CV to the agency, says Carter Ruck lawyer on copyright

Back in March 2000 UKTECH ran a story about 20,000 CVs for sale; Sarah Coe, a Lawyer with the top City firm Carter Ruck, has drafted an article on this topic. She raises the interesting possibility of licensing your CV to the Agent you register with

The Internet is seen as the most powerful tool for modern communication that exists. We all use it - and are impressed with the instant results. However, we can often fail to realise that the flip-side of such ease of access is that we ourselves can become targets. Predators and prey are constantly changing roles in this new cyber-jungle.

You've seen it happen to you when your CV suddenly shows up on a database which you had no knowledge of, copied or sold on without your consent and transferred from buyer to buyer at the speed at which a modem can process that information. It's an electronic dog eat dog world and the question is - what can you do to bite back?

The Law in Evolution

The first thing you should realise is that in many ways the law is still out of step with technology. Lawyers are working to make old legal concepts stretch to cover the new digital environment and the result is not a hand-glove fit. There are increasing calls for a comprehensive new law for the Internet, such as a 'cyberconvention' to cover all areas of Internet law however this has yet to happen. In the meanwhile, existing rules of copyright have been expanded to include digital material published on the web or provided on CD-Roms or DVDs.

Traditionally you as the creator of any original Work have exclusive rights to authorise the reproduction, distribution and public communication of your Work subject to the conditions agreed in any employment or consultancy contract. If you then sell your rights to a third party, or your employer has ownership and seeks to exploit the Work, you still have the 'moral right' to be named as the author.

Currently, UK copyright laws and the proposed European Union Copyright Directive seek to confirm that digital users have the same rights in the digital arena. However anyone who has tried to read over the present UK copyright laws can get confused quite quickly as there are a myriad of rules to wade through.

The point to keep hold of is this: generally you, as the creator of your CV, have the exclusive right to control the dissemination and reproduction of your CV as it is your copyright work. Anyone who makes use of your CV without your consent has to answer to you legally. You have direct right of legal action against them for infringement of your intellectual property rights.

You may also have remedies under the UK Data Protection Act 1998. One of the preconditions to data being lawfully processed in this country is that the data controller normally has to seek your consent before using the information - unless the processing is necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the data controller where these interests are not prejudicial to you.

Enforcement

Should you discover that your rights have been violated, you can seek to enforce them. You can bring an action for breach of copyright and your remedies could include damages, the right to have the infringing copies destroyed or where possible, delivered-up and injunctions against further infringements. Again, jurisdictional issues will need to be considered.

Under the Data Protection Act, you will be able to seek court orders for enquiries as to the accuracy of the data, orders for the rectification, blocking, erasure or destruction of the data and orders restraining the processing of data for the purposes of direct marketing. The courts can also award damages for failure to comply with the Act.

Some difficulties you can face in enforcing your rights in a digital world are:

Digital data is transient - it can appear, disappear and re-appear without trace, giving evidential problems in proving your grievance;

Digital data is multi-jurisdictional - the violator of your rights may be outside the reach of UK or European Union laws. You may have rights of enforcement against a violator in a country which has signed up to the Universal Copyright Convention, but enforcing them is not always practical;

Digital data can be 'morphed' - which means that the user is often invited to be creative with the way they receive your information. This can result in blurring of boundaries between creator and recipient (in a way that was impossible between a writer and reader of a traditional hardcopy text). In this sort of case, it can be difficult to prove that you should still be considered the creator.

Preventative Steps

Given the costs and difficulties that can be faced with enforcing your rights, let's consider a number of ways to combat the unauthorised sale of your CV. By self-help methods, such as the following:

Firstly, protect your CV with a comprehensive copyright notice. This should be attached to the end of your document. Most importantly, the notice should assert that you are the sole owner (or author as appropriate) of the copyright in the Work, and the reproduction, transmission, editing or storage of the whole or any part thereof, whether electronically, digitally, photographically or otherwise, should not occur without your permission.

Often where permission is sought you can specify an appropriate royalty amount to be paid to you, but be aware of the legal and tax implications from entering into a licence relationship.

Secondly, on each CV page insert the copyright symbol, followed by your name and the year you created your CV. This formula is not obligatory under UK law, but should warn potential infringers that you are aware of your rights under the Universal Copyright Convention (that most countries in the world have ratified).

Thirdly, be aware that the copyright symbol means no more than a recognition that different copyright rules apply in different countries. If your CV is published on the net, the question can still arise as to what country has jurisdiction and which copyright laws should apply.

Fourthly, make the content and format of each CV slightly different for each site or agent to whom you submit your CV, so that the document can be correctly traced if sold on. A couple of tricks - describe your name differently, and put in different words or full stops in key places. Be creative!

If you are aware of your rights, a carefully worded letter from yourself or your solicitor can often work wonders for minimal cost and effort.

The only effective way to combat copyright abuse is vigilance and tenacity in pursuing infringements, but do be careful of making groundless threats and do seek professional advice where necessary. Sites like UKTECH draw attention to copyright abuse suffered by individuals and you may be able to pool resources with others in a similar position.

Sarah Coe

Renuka Kukanesen