Copyright Act: contributions to collective works (17 U.S.C. 201(c))
A freelancer's article in a newspaper, magazine or site stays the freelancer's copyright. Without an express transfer, the publisher is presumed to hold only the right to publish it as part of that issue, a revision of it or a later issue in the series, so licensing the article on its own, outside the publication, generally needs a grant from the writer.
Dated 31 Oct 2026Source checked 31 Oct 2026Basis: primary text
Selling a company's data? This is one of the rules a sale has to meet, and the guide beside the button reads it in plain words.
- No data upload
- About two minutes
- No email needed
In the source's own words
“Copyright in each separate contribution to a collective work is distinct from copyright in the collective work as a whole, and vests initially in the author of the contribution. In the absence of an express transfer of the copyright or of any rights under it, the owner of copyright in the collective work is presumed to have acquired only the privilege of reproducing and distributing the contribution as part of that particular collective work, any revision of that collective work, and any later collective work in the same series.”
Where it was read
Figures it counts in
It is shown on its own, not counted into a figure.
Cited in this guide