From: "Peter B. Hirtle" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2015 14:49:41 +0000

Though legislative history is out-of-fashion in some circles, one
might add to Kevin's excellent response the discussion found in the
House Report that accompanied the 1976 Act:

"There is also no need for a specific statutory provision concerning
the rights and duties of the co-owners of a work; court-made law on
this point is left undisturbed. Under the bill, as under the present
law, co-owners of a copyright would be treated generally as tenants in
common, with each co-owner having an independent right to use or
license the use of a work, subject to a duty of accounting to the
other co-owners for any profits."

(Earlier the report notes that "the coauthors of the work are likewise
co-owners of the copyright.")

Peter Hirtle


-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin Smith <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2015 12:11:29 +0000

Hi Linda,

There is a definition of a "joint work" in section 101 of the
Copyright Act (Title 17 of the U.S. Code).  In section 201(a) we are
told that "[t]he authors of a joint work are co-owners of the
copyright in the work."  To the best of my knowledge, the specific
meaning of co-ownership has been a matter of interpretation for the
courts, where rulings, including the one I cited, Weinstein v.
University of Illinois 811 F.2d 1091 (7th Cir. 1987), have indicated
that each co-owner of a copyright can exercise the rights
independently, subject to a duty to account for profits to the other
copyright holders.

By the way, the Seventh Circuit ruling in Weinstein -- it is a dispute
over publishing a scholarly article -- makes for interesting reading
for those in an academic setting.  The panel for the case included two
of our most famous appellate court judges (and former academics) --
Richard Posner and Frank Easterbrook, with Judge Easterbrook writing
the opinion.  The paragraph about co-ownership is paragraph 13; it
cites an earlier case as well as the opinions of Nimmer and Latman.

Kevin L. Smith
Director, Copyright & Scholarly Communication Duke University Libraries

-----Original Message-----
From: Linda M Schwartz <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2015 11:28:16 +0000

Kevin, I read your reply with interest. Can you tell me where in the
copyright law I would find the information that "a joint author, as
co-owner of the copyright, is entitled to publish even without the
permission of other joint authors." Is this in the law itself or other
sources such as case law? Thanks.


Linda Matula Schwartz, MDE, AHIP, CM
Director, Knowledge Management
(Library Services and Patient Education)
Lehigh Valley Health Network
Allentown, PA 18105