QUESTION
What to do when I can't track down the copyright holder?
Asked on Jan 20th, 2013 on Intellectual Property - New York
More details to this question:
I wish to use some material in a publication from a magazine that has not been published for 40 years (and sell my publication). I have records showing that a company owns this magazine but when I contacted them for permission they said they have no record of ever owning it. I am certain they do. Am I safe to go ahead and use the content since they are unlikely to take action against me if they don't even believe they own the content ? What are my options when I can't track down a copyright-holder?
1 ANSWER
I would not recommend that you use any third party-owned copyrighted work in a commercial publication (one that you offer for sale and potentially make money on) - even if you do not believe that the legitimate copyright owner will not come after you. Ideally, you should seek the owner's written permission to utilize the work in question. Feel free to email me offline to further discuss this: ldunner@dunnerlaw.com
Lisa
Answered on Jan 25th, 2013 at 11:00 AM