Re: Help with who owns copyright

On Fri, 20 Sep 1996, Sue Medina wrote:
>
> Can someone suggest an answer:
>
> A library has been given someone's personal files. He gave the
> university rights to the copyright. The files include his
> correspondence--so the University owns the copyright for his letters.
>
> Who owns the copyright of letters written to him?

The authors of the letters.

> The library would like to create a website with these materials. Can
> it include letters written to him, or will it have to get the permission
> of the people who orginally wrote the letters?

Or their heirs, depending on whether the authors are still alive. If any of the authors are well-known they may have assigned their letters to someone else, just as your author did.

> If the dates of letters predate changes in the copyright assigning
> copyright with a statement of copyright, are these letters without
> copyright if the do not have a copyright statement or the c in a circle
> symbol?

I'm not sure; however, it is much cleaner to get permission. You don't get sued that way.

Harold Federow
<hfederow[_at_]u.washington.edu> Received on Tue Sep 24 1996 - 05:15:51 GMT