A Question Of Copyright

When a lawyer writes an article for a journal, newspaper, legal newsletter or other kind of collective work, the publisher typically asks the lawyer/author to assign the copyright in the article to the publisher. On occasion, the lawyer, or his or her firm, will insist that the lawyer retain the copyright in the article and instead will offer the publisher only a one-time license to publish the article. If this gap cannot be closed, the publisher will lose an article that would have benefited its readers (and its subscriber base) while the lawyer/author will lose a valuable marketing opportunity to reach potential new clients. Fortunately, when both sides understand the nature of what they are seeking and what they are giving and getting, and when both sides refuse to stand on ceremony, the copyright question should not be a bar to publication.

13 minute readOctober 06, 2003 at 03:03 PM
By
Steven A. Meyerowitz
A Question Of Copyright

When a lawyer writes an article for a journal, newspaper, legal newsletter or other kind of collective work, the publisher typically asks the lawyer/author to assign the copyright in the

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