who owns copyright?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
who owns copyright?
If professor writes his textbook, who owns its copyright? professor or university considering work-for-hire
Asked on October 23, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, New Hampshire
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
If he wrote it as part of his job, the university (e.g. if he wrote it for the class he is teaching): anything created while an employee is a work-made-for-hire and belongs to the employer. It would also belong to the school if he used school resources to create it (e.g. student help; school-funded research or school equiptment); the use of their resources gives them an interest in it.
If he did not write it for the class he is teaching and did not use school resources, he would own the rights to since it would not be a work-made-for-hire (not all things made while employed belong to the employer: only those things which are part of the employee's job or which are created with employer resources), unless he had signed some written agreement with the school, which agreement, by its terms, gives them the copyright; such an agreement would be legal and enforceable.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.