I would take the stuff down ASP. Just because the boss said the projects were dead, doesn’t mean the ideas in them aren’t valuable. That value is the property of whoever hired you.
However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep copies of everything:) Make sure to have some stuff that you can show in interviews, but only show other people physical copies. You don’t want to leave any fingerprints. The world is much smaller than you think!
I was in a similar situation last year. I did some renders of an idea only tangentally related to the company I worked for. I had them online for awhile, but after re-reading the agreement I signed and thinking about the ramifications of the boss finding out, I decided to delete everything I had posted online. Better safe than sorry!
Whether you like the terms he has placed on your usage of that information in your public portfolio, your boss is right.
You own NOTHING that you did there. They paid you for that work and it is the company’s Intellectual Property. Plain and simple. Just because its a “dead” job, does not eliminate the possibility of it being revived later on. Being used in Intellectual Property Trade/Sale discussions, etc. Especially if it is patented.
Ethically, if they underpaid you…well, that was you’re own “fault” for taking the job at such a low rate. This discussion is not about the ethics of your pay rate…it is about ownership.
The more I think about this, the more I think you’re fcuked.
Start working on a “new portfolio”. You have some free time on your hands now.
I would guess that you won’t have a sympathetic ear from your boss. Do you have a reference from the company that will support your talent and overlook this mistake?
I retract my comment wrt to using this in your portfolio, actually. You’re treading on thin ice with that.
Surely you could bang out a good chunk of the work you’ve done relatively quickly in your own vision.