Re: Copyright in Personal Letters

On 7/29/97, Eric Zohn <ezohn[_at_]wma.com> wrote:
>
> I know we've discussed this issue before, but the following fact
> pattern has presented itself:
>
> An author is writing a book on sports history and wants to
> reproduce, in their entirety, private letters written by players to
> fans throughout this century that he has acquired from various
> sources. The letters have never been published before.
>
> I know that ownership of the letters does not give him ownership of
> the copyright in the letters. Many of the players were obscure and
> finding their heirs would be almost impossible. Does anyone know
> of any type of authority, e.g. a fair use case, that I could use to
> advise the author?
>

Salinger v. Random House, 811 F.2d 90 (2d Cir. 1987) presents a similar fact pattern. The use was held unfair.

Mark Lemley
Assistant Professor, University of Texas School of Law Of Counsel, Fish & Richardson, P.C.
mlemley[_at_]mail.law.utexas.edu

You can find a list of my articles and books, and information on how to obtain them, at http://www.law.utexas.edu/lemley/pubs.htm

For information on the Intellectual Property program at UT, see http://www.utexas.edu/law/acadaff/intelprop/ Received on Wed Jul 30 1997 - 15:33:07 GMT