Discussion:
What is the name of your state? california.
a friend and i copyrighted a story. subsequently i assigned my copyrights to him for $10,000. he never paid me. he then sold a script based on the idea for $100,000. he sent me a check for a portion of the $10,000. he also stated unequivocally that i wasn't going to be paid in full. so who owns the copyright? is he infringing on my copyright?
Answer:
Without reading a copy of the agreement the two of you signed there is no way to know. However, my gut reaction is that neither of you had a formal agreement so the answer is no.
Answer:
"a friend and i copyrighted a story."
So you BOTH own the copyright to the story.
"subsequently i assigned my copyrights to him for $10,000."
What are the terms of the written arrangement for the assignment?
" he then sold a script based on the idea for $100,000."
He can do this. Since he is a co-owner of the copyright, he can sell, assign, create derivative works, etc. -- and he doesn't need your permission. You could do the same to him, of course.
"he sent me a check for a portion of the $10,000. he also stated unequivocally that i wasn't going to be paid in full."
Wasn't $10,000 the agreement originally? Why isn't this "paid in full?" What written agreements do you have?
"so who owns the copyright?"
If the payment fulfills the agreement to pay for your part of the copyright, then I guess he does. If not, then you both do.
"is he infringing on my copyright?"
No. Even if he didn't pay you for your half of the copyright, he is not infringing on your copyright. Each of you owns as undivided share of the whole work, like tenants in common -- either of you can do whatever you want with your share of the work without seeking the permission of the other. "Joint authors co-owning copyright in a work are deemed to be tenants in common, with each having an independent right to use or license the copyright, subject only to a duty to account to the other co-owner for any profits earned thereby." Thomson v. Larson, 147 F.3d 195. So as long as he is telling you what he is doing with the work, he can pretty much do what he wants, and no, this is NOT infringing on your copyright.
The one thing that is generally prohibited is that one author of a joint work (which this is) may not "make or authorize a use of the work that would lead to its destruction" or the destruction of its worth. 1 Nimmer on Copyright 6.10[A].
Unless you are planning on doing something with the work yourself, take the money and run!
Answer:
I just love it when she gets sooooo technical
Answer:
thanks, everybody, for your help. i can tell you that this free advice site has already been more thorough than others i've tried. if i can just have one follow up question? i know you'd have to read the copyright assignment contract to know for sure, but if it does state that he agrees to pay $10,000 and sends me a check for $3,000 and a letter stating that he won't be paying any more, is that a breach of contract? can i get damages for such a blatant breach? attorney's fees?
this is in california.
Answer:
If the contract stipulates a certain price for your assignment of the copyright and you can prove that that price was not paid, you not only could make a case for partial performance but also for 1/2 of the revenue for his sale of the work since the contract has not been fulfilled.
One question. How long has it been since you signed this agreement?
Answer:
"i know you'd have to read the copyright assignment contract to know for sure, but if it does state that he agrees to pay $10,000 and sends me a check for $3,000 and a letter stating that he won't be paying any more, is that a breach of contract?"
Probably. It depends on the exact wording of the contract.
"can i get damages for such a blatant breach?"
You can collect actual damages for breach of contract, but no "enhanced" damages -- i.e., punitive damages, etc.
"attorney's fees?"
Only if attorneys fees were specified in the original contract. That is, if, in the original contract, if you had a clause that discussed what would happen if one or the other party breached the contract AND specified that a winner in a breach suit could recover fees, then yes. Otherwise, no.
But hexe..., I mean, Pfaffing85690, brings up a good point. If the transfer of the copyright is NOT complete, then he owes you more than the missing $7,000 -- he my owe you up to HALF of the $100,000 that he got from selling the script based on your work. It may not be exactly half if the script is sufficiently different from the original to be considered a "derivative work" and he developed the derivative work individually.
In any event, there is enough $$$ here to make it worthwhile to take your original contract and all other information down to an attorney with some experience in copyright to determine exactly what you are entitled to. Good luck.
Answer:
thanks again to all of you.
in answer to pfaffing85690's question, the copyright assignment was signed in May 2003. i received the woefully inadequate check on Valentine's day.
Answer:
Then get ye to an attorney tomorrow morning. And divgradcurl, thanks for the compliment but I'm not half the man Hex is (was)