Writers and Authors reader Diane Lacelle recently asked the question "If a writer was hired to write a book for an author, who has the rights to the copyrights and everything else? The writer or the author?"
This is a very complex question to answer but the simple reply is "it depends".
Usually it's the “author” a writer is ghosting for that holds the copyright to the work, but it’s best to actually spell that out in the contract. There may also be exceptions which need to be clearly stated.
I'm not an expert about derivative rights, copyright and all those legal bits that become part of a writers life at some point but my advice is to always study the contract very carefully before signing and if possible get a patent, copyright and trademark attorney to read over the contract too.
If in doubt, don't sign.
N.B. Copyright is not enforceable in the courts until it has been registered in the Copyright Office. This of course assuming that the Copyright Office first determines that the particular writing is subject to being copyrighted.
Have you dealt with copyright issues as a ghost-writer? Got some advice to share from your own experience?
Image source: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Examine_copyright_icon.svg
