Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California
I created some computer graphic images of a spaceship that a colleague designed. I e-mailed the images to him in the hopes that he would pay me to continue working on them. He did not. The colleague later published a book with my images printed in it. He did not ask my permission to include the images in his book, but he did acknowledge that they were my work in the front of the book. I did not have any type of copyright on the images as they were not complete. Do I have any recourse?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Aside from a renewed request for some compensation, I doubt that there's much you can do that will be cost-effective. Maybe you could write and ask for a few free copies of his book.
Nevertheless, you might want to discuss the economics of suit with an intellectual property attorney near you, who can assist you in making a decision whether legal action could be worth while.
Your legal case seems pretty good. Copyright attaches at the moment the work is created and "fixed in a tangible medium of expression" (which includes computer memory), and would attach to preliminary (unfinished) versions that were sufficiently complete in themselves to be sent as e-mail messages or attachments. You couldn't sue in Federal court until you copyrighted the images, but since the book gives you credit, there is an acknowledgment that you were the creator of the images and entitled to the copyright.
Ultimately I think it'll boil down to whether the damages you might win would warrant the cost and hassle of a suit. Maybe a lawyer's threatening letter and a modest out-of-court settlement might be the best solution.
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