Re: Who owns it?

Bob Cumbow <cumbr[_at_]perkinscoie.com> wrote (in part):
>
> An exception to this is the possibility that the individual's work
> will be considered a contribution to a collective work---in that case,
> even if the individual is an independent contractor, the state
> [employer] will still own the copyright. In either case, the state
> should have a written contract with the individual that clarifies this
> issue. As you can see, this is extremely fact-specific; I strongly
> recommend that the individual consult with a copyright attorney
> regarding the ownership question.

     In the independent contractor context of the "work made for hire" doctrine, the person for whom a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work was prepared does _not_ by law own the copyright _unless_ "the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire." (The same rule applies to works specially ordered or commissioned for use as "part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, as a translation, as a supplementary work, as a compilation, as an instructional text, as a test, as answer material for a test, or as an atlas.") Thus, not only _should_ the hiring party have a written contract to clarify its initial copyright ownership, it _must_ have one.

Doug Isenberg
Attorney at Law
Alston & Bird LLP
One Atlantic Center
1201 West Peachtree Street
Atlanta, Georgia 30309-3424
USA
Direct dial: (404) 881-7747; fax: (404) 881-7777 E-mail: disenberg[_at_]alston.com
Web site: http://www.alston.com/ Received on Fri May 01 1998 - 17:15:21 GMT