Re: students' copyright

On Tue, 30 May 2000, Joel Ankney <jankney[_at_]maysval.com> wrote:
>
> As part of an elementary school curriculum in the United States,
> two teachers help a group of students write a musical play that
> teaches the audience geography lessons. The play is such a
> success that the teachers want to register the copyright to the
> play [...]
>
> The teachers have asked how to register the copyright and what
> steps need to be taken to publish the article. I have told them
> that the students and they jointly own the copyright to the
> original portions of the play. Therefore, registration should
> be made listing the teachers and students as the authors. Because
> the teachers are joint copyright owners with the students, they can
> publish the article without special permission from the students
> [...] From a purely copyright point of view, have I missed any
> issues or does this seem like the correct approach?

I think you've missed the possible implications of the "work made for hire" doctrine. It sounds like the teachers were acting within the scope of their employment for their school district. Wouldn't that make the school system (or municipal government), rather than the teachers, the co-owners of the copyright?

I'm not sure about the students. However, because they aren't employees of the school and (I assume) did not sign an assignment or work-for-hire agreement, I believe the copyright owners are the students and the school system/local government. Have I missed something?

Howard Zaharoff, Esq.
Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, P.C.

     Waltham, MA 02451
     <hgz[_at_]mbbp.com>