Content Rights for Creative Professionals, 2nd Edition

Chapter 7

Ownership of Copyright: Keeping What Is Yours

 

In an era when content is prized as an asset of commerce, the claim to ownership of copyrighted works becomes more intense. Therefore, care must be taken in establishing the lineage of works. Failure to attend to the niceties of ownership could drive the careless to headaches or, worse, the loss of rights. The most practical moment to address these matters is before the work is created. Devise a plan for the ownership of a work and do your homework.

Keep in mind a handful of important points about owning copyrights. First, a basic concern is meeting the statutory requirements for creating a work, most notably fixation in a tangible medium. Perhaps the central issue of ownership involves ...