Re: permission for keeping writing samples

[Kent Newton <KentN -at- METRIX-INC -dot- COM>]

At 04:57 PM 2/14/96 -0500, Brad Barnes wrote:
>What is the generally accepted practice on whether or not you obtain
>explicit permission from your employer to permit you to keep a copy of
your
>work for use in your portfolio?

>I have *heard* that employers automatically understand and assume that
>writers will always be able to put aside writing samples for portfolio
>purposes--without explicit permission.

>In practice, do any of you always *formally* make requests for copies of
>your own work? Or do you just go ahead and retain your own copies?
Afterall,
>the work you produce belongs to the party who has paid for it, be it
your
>employer or your employer's customer, right?

I explained to my employer that I would like to keep samples of my
writing for my portfolio and asked him to sign a permission form allowing
me to do so.  I titled the form "Limited Waiver of Copyright."  It
essentially stated the reason I wanted to retain samples, identified my
employer as copyright holder for those samples, and stipulated conditions
under which I could not use the samples (e.g., I could not distribute
them to competitors or sell them).  My employer was very understanding
and readily agreed to sign the waiver.

Kent Newton
Senior Technical Writer
Metrix, Inc.
kentn -at- metrix-inc -dot- com