Being naive about such things.... I always thought a verbal contract was only as good as the paper it was written on, hence not worth anything. Pat Asher <pasher@ee.net> wrote: At 11:03 AM 4/15/2006, you wrote: >I made an assumption based upon Richard's original post--which stated: > >"You give a lecture at a genealogy convention and, with your approval, it is >taped (either audio or video). > >Absent any specific contract point on this, who owns the copyright - the >person who gave the lecture or the person who taped it?" > >...From the above I figurerd there IS a written contract and perhaps I'm >assuming too much "Contacts" can be verbal or written :) A verbal contact (permission given orally) can only transfer nonexclusive rights to distribute. The speaker would retain copyright to the speech itself, assuming it was not a work for hire or s/he was not a government employee where the speech would immediately be public domain. The speaker would also retain all other rights to distribute as part of the exclusive rights included in their copyright. They could even prepare and distribute a competing recording. Think of a news reporter who video tapes a news conference or seminar. The speaker has invited the media to record and report the event (given permission) The speaker retains copyright to his speech. The news reporter/agency holds the copyright to the video tape and can distribute it. However, the speaker can also sell/distribute recordings of his speech/seminar. If the recorder wants exclusive rights to distribute recordings of the speech, he must obtain that exclusive right from the copyright holder in writing. Pat ==== COPYRIGHT Mailing List ==== RootsWeb's mailing lists are filtered and attachments are removed. A virus that is distributed as an attachment will not reach you through a RootsWeb mailing list. For further information about Viruses, Trojans, Worms etc., go please to: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/virus.html. Think to keep your Anti-Virus up-to-date! ============================== Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx

At 03:53 PM 4/15/2006, you wrote: >Being naive about such things.... I always thought a verbal contract was >only as good as the paper it was written on, hence not worth anything. It depends <g> Contract law is probably outside the scope of this list, and the List Admin may want to terminate any extended discussion, but briefly, a written contract is *evidence* of the terms of the agreement should there be a dispute. For example, suppose you agree to sell your old lawn mower to your neighbor for $150 -- $50 now, $50 on May 15, and $50 on June 15. Now further suppose the mower stops working on June 10 and your neightbor refuses to make the final $50 payment. Absent a written agreement, he has the lawn mower and cancelled checks to prove he paid you $100. YOU have no evidence he agreed to pay $150 for the mower. OTOH, if a speaker asks for or agrees to a sound recording of his speech/seminar, the recorder makes (presumably) a high quality tape which would indicate a microphone on the podium or nearby -- which would (again presumably) be obvious to the speaker. If the speaker later claimed he did not give permission for the recording, the recorder could suggest the quality of the recording was prima facie evidence of the speaker's knowledge of and agreement to the recording. That would be "secondary evidence" of the oral agreement. Pat