If you find yourself working on a project with one or more collaborators, you may wonder about your rights under copyright law. When two or more authors contribute to a final work, each joint author has rights under copyright law in their individual capacity.
Creation of a Joint Work
A “joint work” is defined under 17 U.S.C. § 101 as “a work prepared by two or more authors with the intention that their contributions be merged into inseparable or interdependent parts of a unitary whole.” When a joint work has joint authorship, each person who contributed to the work acquires an undivided ownership. A vital element of a joint work is the co-authors’ intent, whether intent to collaborate or a mutual intent to be joint authors.
The Copyright Act specifies that work can be made from inseparable or interdependent contributions. Inseparable contributions are when the work of one transforms the work of the other, such as in a novel or painting. Suppose the contributions are merely assembled into a collective whole without changing the respective contributions. In that case, the contributions are interdependent, as is found when one contributor writes the lyrics, and another composes the melody for a song.
To be considered a joint author:
- The contribution must be more than de minimis; however, the contribution of each author does not need to be equal.
- The contribution must be of authorship. Mere physical labor or providing financial support does not constitute authorship.
- The material contributed by each joint author must be material that could have been independently copyrighted standing alone.
Rights of a Joint Author
Traditionally, all joint authors share the ownership of the joint work equally, even when the contributions are not equal. As such, each author has the right to reproduce, distribute, and display the work without the permission of the other joint authors. While a joint author cannot grant an exclusive license, non-exclusive licenses may be granted without approval from the different joint contributors. If a joint author wishes to transfer their interest, they may do so without the consent of the other collaborators.
When creating a work through joint authorship, any value created through licensing, performance, or distribution is distributed equally amongst all joint authors. It’s also important to know that should one joint author die, their heirs acquire their interest, not the surviving joint author(s).
Protecting Your Interest
The rules of joint authorship may be modified by a contractual agreement between the authors to define what can and cannot be done with the work and the individual contributions that contributed to the joint work. Key considerations include control and approval, derivative works, copyright ownership, and the parties’ obligations and duties. If you are collaborating with other artists on a piece of work, contact us to learn how we can help protect your copyright interests.
About Griffith Barbee
Griffith Barbee is a boutique intellectual property and commercial litigation law firm in Dallas. Our award-winning lawyers represent companies, business leaders, and entrepreneurs in high-stakes disputes in federal and state courts throughout the country and in tribunals within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Related Posts:
Taylor's Version: What Her Re-Recordings Teach Us About Copyright Law in the Music Industry
