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Copyright: Who owns the work

A journalist does not always own the copyright in his or her original work. Copyright ownership can hinge on the employment relationship. The Supreme Court has held that copyright ownership depends on whether the work was prepared as an employee or an independent contractor. An employee's work is considered "work for hire" and copyright belongs to the employer; an independent contractor's work is owned by the independent contractor. Unless there is an express, written agreement to the contrary, a freelancer is considered an independent contractor, and is presumed to hold the copyright.⁹

Ownership questions can arise in a variety of situations. Investigative journalists won a victory when a federal appellate court blocked an attempt to use copyright ownership principles to squelch undercover reporting. When reporters working as deli clerks videotaped conditions inside a grocery chain's stores, the grocery chain sued, claiming that it owned the copyright to the videotapes made during the investigation. The tapes were works for hire because the reporters were employed by the chain while they surreptitiously conducted the investigation, it claimed. Both the federal trial court and appellate court rejected the claim on the grounds that investigative reporting was beyond the scope of the reporters' employment with the chain.¹⁰

Notes

9. Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730 (1989).

10. Food Lion Inc. v. Capital Cities/ABC, Inc., 946 F.Supp. 420 (M.D.N.C. 1996), affirmed, 1997 Copyright L. Rep. P27,673 (4th Cir. June 19, 1997).

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