P
probateproblems
Guest
Several years ago(before 1994)I entered a poetry contest I found in a newspaper magazine. Safe to say I did not win but was received a letter informing me how great my poem was. It further stated that they would like to include me in their up-and-coming book of poetry. A release contact was included. I declined by never sending it in.
Recently I found out this company had a website. So I went to the web page and just out of curiosity searched for my poem. There it was. When I questioned the site they gave me the run around. They say they never put my poem in a book but I still don't know that for sure. Not so sure I want to invest $50 on a book that's re-published yearly. I told them I wanted them to remove my poem from their site and they have not complied with my wishes.
Here's the bottom line. The poem is not a registered work. On their site my name is clearly visible. I have the original hand written poem. I have their release contract. It includes my poem with my name and is dated. Can they be held liable for copyright infringement? Is my arguement flawed because I do not have the work registered? I'm still not sure about them publishing my poem in a book. That would be a more serious infringement. On the basis of web publishing, are they then liable?
Thanks
William
Recently I found out this company had a website. So I went to the web page and just out of curiosity searched for my poem. There it was. When I questioned the site they gave me the run around. They say they never put my poem in a book but I still don't know that for sure. Not so sure I want to invest $50 on a book that's re-published yearly. I told them I wanted them to remove my poem from their site and they have not complied with my wishes.
Here's the bottom line. The poem is not a registered work. On their site my name is clearly visible. I have the original hand written poem. I have their release contract. It includes my poem with my name and is dated. Can they be held liable for copyright infringement? Is my arguement flawed because I do not have the work registered? I'm still not sure about them publishing my poem in a book. That would be a more serious infringement. On the basis of web publishing, are they then liable?
Thanks
William