Can you copyright something you did not write?

Copyrighting Another's Work

Yes, but only if it has been contractually assigned to you or you inherited it.

According to the U.S. Copyright Office:

Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.

In the case of works made for hire, the employer and not the employee is considered to be the author. Section 101 of the copyright law defines a "work made for hire" as:

(1) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or (2) a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as:

• a contribution to a collective work
• a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work
• a translation
• a supplementary work
• a compilation
• an instructional text
• a test
• answer material for a test
• an atlas

and only if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire. The authors of a joint work are co-owners of the copyright in the work, unless there is an agreement to the contrary.

Note that independently contracted works OUTSIDE of the listed commissions above are NOT "works made for hire", even if the parties call it that, and the author/artist/photographer (not the patron) is the copyright owner (or at least a joint owner, if the patron contributed creative materials to the work). Therefore, the patron must receive a written transfer (assignment) of the copyright in order to register the copyright.

Copyright in each separate contribution to a periodical or other collective work is distinct from copyright in the collective work as a whole and vests initially with the author of the contribution.

Two General Principles:

• Mere ownership of a book, manuscript, painting, or any other copy or phonorecord does not give the possessor the copyright. The law provides that transfer of ownership of any material object that embodies a protected work does not of itself convey any rights in the copyright.

However, ownership of a copy may give the owner the right to sell, display, or perform his copy, under specific circumstances, depending upon the medium in which the copy is embodied.

• Minors may claim copyright, but state laws may regulate the business dealings involving copyrights owned by minors. For information on relevant state laws, consult an attorney.

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