School Paper and Copyright...Again

Hey all,

A while ago I started a thread here dealing with copyright and my school paper. You can view that link if you'd like, but long story short the paper thinks they own the copyright to my images. I'm not being paid in any manner, using my own equipment, and have not signed any releases of copyright. I just let the issue die down as it was towards the end of the year last year without changing anything. Today I get the email from our adviser:

Eric-- Can you explain why you have Lantern copyrighted material here with no credit or mention of The Lantern?http://www.photoeric.c​om/galleries

So not sure where to go from here. Last time I talked with a lawyer from the Student Press Law Center and he said I was in the right. I'm thinking of giving him a call here again with an update on the situation. Any one else have any other ideas?

As you were advised back then, you own the copyright and you should be registering your copyright for all the images. If they can't find a way to work with you under those conditions, then you may not be able to work together. But with what has been done to this point, you own the copyright, not them.

Yea... that adviser doesn't understand copyright law. I'm very involved in my school paper and the photographers grant us the right to use the images in our publication and online, but they keep the copyright - and that's the way it works legally, unless you actually sign off on a work for hire agreement.

You're in the right. I would speak with the lawyer again and update him on everything going on. You might be able to get a letter from him stating what your rights are or that you do in fact own your photos.

You could also double check as to why they think they own your work. It might be as simple as a blanket clause in your admission to a class where you lose the right to your work.

Edit:
...So I went back and read over what you had posted in the other article. It seems getting the editor and the advocate together in a room would be the easyist way to get this hashed out. You might want to ask the advocate to get his/her boss involved as most likely this will go up a few levels to the schools actual legal office. If you want to sale the photos online you would need permission of the university and you might be able to trade off submitting work for the right to sale the photos.

But that can't be done legally, no way. Even if such a clause exists, it has no legal power. The US copyright law is very specific that a signed document with very specific wording is necessary. This exact kind of case--blanket clauses to attend classes--has specifcially been denied by the Federal courts. Students in, say, art classes, keep the copyright to their work...they can't be lost through blanket statements in class admission paperwork.

Talk to a lawyer. You should be able to find someone who will lay it out for you for cheap and maybe even do a letter. Probly about $500 if they don't require a larger retainer.

At worst, you will get angry e-mails and a C&D letter, but it won't go beyond that. Tell them where to shove their manufactured rights.

The Lantern has some policy that the adviser emailed me. I was only made aware of it once the issue was brought up the first time and I never agreed to it, even verbally.

I called the SPLC again and left the lawyer I spoke with a voice mail. I have to meet with the adviser tonight and I'm planning on telling him I own the copyright and will license for free. I actually found a really nice PDF on the SPLC site for this. At this point the original editor is no longer there so I'm just dealing with the adviser. So I guess we'll see what comes of the meeting later tonight.

malibubts wrote in post #13348533
The Lantern has some policy that the adviser emailed me. I was only made aware of it once the issue was brought up the first time and I never agreed to it, even verbally.

I called the SPLC again and left the lawyer I spoke with a voice mail. I have to meet with the adviser tonight and I'm planning on telling him I own the copyright and will license for free. I actually found a really nice PDF on the SPLC site for this. At this point the original editor is no longer there so I'm just dealing with the adviser. So I guess we'll see what comes of the meeting later tonight.

You may be required by their policy to do it, but you have not expressly done it and considering their own lack of immediate knowledge of this policy, they aren't going to be able to charge you with knowledge nor is it even a contractual relationship to begin with. The policy is meaningless except in regards to how they will manage your relationship in the future.

Yeah my plan is to go in and tell them they are incorrect about having the copyright. And from my understanding copyright has to be transferred by a written document with both parties signing. This has never happened. And I've been looking at the works for hire a lot, doesn't really seem that my situation falls under a works for hire clause.

interested to see where this goes.

Eric-

The other important question here is-what are the consequences of stopping working for the newspaper? Since you are done with your Journalism course, I would guess that the consequences are minimal and you would never agree to give copyright over as a condition of working for them anyways.

Your response then is simple. "US law says that the creator is the Copyright Owner unless there is a work for hire agreement. I never signed the Lantern Copyright Policy and I will not in the future."

You can actually submit the images for Copyright Registration online at any time. You can start here:

http://www.copyright.g​ov/eco/notice.html

You could do it now and at the meeting say that the images have already been registered with the US Copyright Office. End of story.

-Scott

Agree with the above. Just because they have decided on a policy that does not constitute a legally binding agreement. Furthermore the assignment would need to be in writing.

They may want the copyright but they currently don't own it.

Dan Marchant wrote in post #13350289
Agree with the above. Just because they have decided on a policy that does not constitute a legally binding agreement. Furthermore the assignment would need to be in writing.

They may want the copyright but they currently don't own it.

This a thousand times over.

"Policy" doesn't mean crap if you didn't agree to it. You own the copyrights.

Register your photos with the copyright office, tell them to pound sand and then send them a bill for using your copyrighted photos.

You should consider giving license granting statement with whatever you submit to the Lantern, every time you submit. Making it clear that you retain the copyright but you grant The Lantern the right to publish the photos in which you are submitting.