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The Essentials of Collaboration Agreements for Literary Works
Courtney Love was sued last April by the collaborator she hired to co-write a memoir. (The collaborator alleged Love failed to make payments due under their agreement; the parties settled.) Former Westchester, NY, District Attorney Jeanine Pirro was sued in October 2015 by a collaborator hired to co-write a book that would include Pirro's role in investigating accused murderer Robert Durst. (That collaborator claimed, among other complaints, that Pirro had not dedicated sufficient time to the book; Pirro moved to compel arbitration.) In November 2015, the New York Daily News reported that Donald Trump's recent book, Crippled America: How to Make America Great Again, was written by someone else. (He or she received no credit.)
Each of these literary relationships fits within a broader legal discussion about artistic collaboration, which concerns joint authorship, ownership and works for hire. While all creative collaborations have features in common, there's a uniquely intimate and trusting nature of the relationship between someone (the subject) whose story interests the public, and a writer engaged by him or her to put that story, either jointly or singly, into concrete form (the writer).
The parties' agreement should cover not only ownership, scheduling, credit and details of the writer's compensation, but also more emotional issues such as what happens if the relationship sours.
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