Some stories have already been printed in a local newspaper. Does the copywrite belong to the newspaper now? or can I still use them in my anthology? I'm not sure I want to go through with printing this book if it means too much trouble. It was written for family and they all have their copies. Now a local group is interested in publishing it for a fund raiser for the museum. Am I just asking for a lot of hassle to do this?
2006-11-18 14:43:53 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Who owns the copyright depends on your relationship to the newspaper. If you wrote the stories as an employee or contractor of the paper, then the copyright is probably theirs. If you submitted the stories as a freelancer, then you retain the copyright unless you signed it away.
If these are fictionalized stories, you definitely need to change the names. If the stories are factual reports and the people named are public figures, you can leave the names in. If it's reporting on people's private lives, you shouldn't use their actual names or identifying circumstances in a book without permission.
2006-11-18 15:21:49 · answer #1 · answered by injanier 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think we need a little more background if we are going to be able to give you a straight answer.
Are you publishing as fiction? Are you publishing biography? Autobiography?
How were they published in the paper?
2006-11-18 15:07:06 · answer #2 · answered by Oh, I see 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋