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Copyright Partnership issue

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broadwing

Junior Member
In 2008 I wrote a tiny (only a few hundred words) story as a joke and posted it to a public forum. One of the moderators of the forum got wind of it before I posted it and set up an introductory post for it, setting the scene even though he didn't know what the little story was about. The "joke" expanded into what is now a sizable work of fiction that he (in Canada) and I (in the US) collaborated on. The novel is now nearing completion and although for the first 4 months we worked on it pretty equally, in the last 18-20 months I've done nearly all of the work. I'm perfectly willing to give him credit for what he's done, which includes several chapters and a couple of major characters, but because of real-life issues he's been nearly impossible to reach to answer questions about it, nor has he indicated that he wants to release his interests in it. I would love to keep working with him on this, but there's a slim chance he might just stay incommunicado until it gets published, and then show up to claim his share after I've done all the hard work.

What are my options as far as setting down partnership protocols about how this work is copyrighted? It isn't officially copyright-registered, but I've been listing him behind me on the (c) 2010 line in the text. I can prove through the many drafts and research notes saved in my files that I've done the lion's share of the development. I have instant messaging history with him and a few others from the inception of this thing, but I don't know if that would be sufficient for proving initial ownership. Could he legally impede me from publishing this novel if he doesn't want me to, even though he hasn't had much involvement in the last two years but was vested in it initially?

I do know of a very good copyright lawyer nearby who specializes in international IP copyright issues, but I doubt I could afford to retain him. Any thoughts about what I should do?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
 


FlyingRon

Senior Member
Copyright markings establish NOTHING. Order of names means nothing either.
The copyright law with US and Canada is ruled by the Berne convention, but I can tell you that it's not going to provide much guidance. You either work out what the split is by yourselves or go to a messy court battle.

FIND A LAWYER links show up all over this forum.
 

The Occultist

Senior Member
Anybody that contributed any amount of creativity to the work (regardless of how minute it might have been) owns an EQUAL share of the copyright (barring a contract that states otherwise). This means that neither of you can deny the other one from using the work however you guys want, but it also means that should either of you make any money off the work then you would need to share the profits equally, regardless of whether or not the other one had anything to do with the money-making process. Is there any chance of finding a mailing address for him?
 

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