From the course: Understanding Intellectual Property (2014)
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Copyright ownership
From the course: Understanding Intellectual Property (2014)
Copyright ownership
One of the most critical aspects of copyright law, is actually the question of who owns it. Who owns the copyright? The answer to that question will be a surprise to many people. It turns out that, the owner of the work is the creator of the work. Unless there's an agreement to the contrary. And that's an interesting default rule. The default rule protects the individual creator, creative types, rather than protecting corporations. It's a burden shifting. Corporations should be in a position to ask for rights. They have lawyers. They have the financial resources. To acquire rights when they feel it's necessary. And so, the law defaults in favor of the little guy. The law defaults in favor of the creator. So, the owner of a work is the creator unless there's an agreement to the contrary. What kind of agreements might be to the contrary? An employee, employer relationship is an agreement. If you agree to work for somebody, and create things for your employer, and that's your job, then…
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