Sharing Ideas and Sharing Ownership with a Collaborator
Thinking about how to protect your IP when collaborating with a colleague?
Let’s look at an example:
Two people collaborate to create an illustrated children’s book. One provides the text. The other provides the illustrations.
Does each collaborator own 50% of the book?
What if one party did 75% of the work while the other contributed 25%?
It is a common misconception that the division of copyright ownership corresponds to the amount of work contributed.
However, unless you have entered a collaboration agreement that says otherwise, here is the default under U.S. copyright law:
Each collaborator will own 100% of the entire work. The writer does not own the text while the artist owns the illustrations. This is called co-ownership or joint ownership.
No doubt you are asking—"How can two (or more) parties each own 100%?” That math ain’t mathing. 🤯
It is a copyright law concept which means that each collaborator has the right to exercise any or all of the copyrights in the joint work, on a nonexclusive basis, as if she owned 100% of the work.
Accordingly, each collaborator may:
Grant third parties permission to use the work on a nonexclusive basis without the consent of other collaborators.
Transfer their entire ownership interest to another person without the other collaborators' consent.
Update the work for their own purpose without the other collaborators' consent.
Hot mess waiting to happen.
To reduce or avoid conflicts between collaborators concerning jointly created works, make sure you reach an agreement, in writing, and, ideally, before the creative work begins, covering how the collaborators will, and how they will not, exploit that joint work, including:
ownership and use;
rights to revise the work;
marketing and sharing of any revenue; and
warranties against copyright infringement.
Back to our co-authors of the illustrated children’s book. They may agree that the illustrator can license the illustrations to a third party so long as the illustrations are not licensed for use in a book. Or they may agree that the work shall not be used in advertisements relating to tobacco or alcohol products, or any other restrictions or limitations of importance to any one or more of the co-creators.
A well-crafted collaboration agreement is invaluable, ensuring that all parties have a clear understanding of their rights, responsibilities, and shared vision for the project. This essential step not only secures the legal and creative interests of all involved but also paves the way for a successful and conflict-free collaboration.
IP is fuel! 🚀