2003-07-11

Authors are sometimes lax in their business affairs. Indeed, an astute observer once commented that authors and agents do lunch not contracts. However, to avoid disputes concerning rights of authorship and ownership, whenever two or more people collaborate to write or develop a creative project, it's wise to have a written collaboration agreement (or appropriate work for hire agreement) that defines each party's rights and obligations. Absent a written agreement, ownership of the authors' creative efforts will be governed by copyright law and the courts not necessarily according to the parties' intention.