Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Re: Literary ownership waivers and releases

First, you should disclose your intentions.

Second, if someone agrees to assign you the rights for free, you don't have to pay them. However, if you plan to make money, why wouldn't you want to pay the people who actually did the creative work? I would suggest some kind of royalty split with the writers--that way you would pay them a percentage of what you actually receive and wouldn't have to pay if you didn't get paid.

Third, you need to have an assignment of rights, not just a waiver. The assignment should contain language that if you get sued for something they wrote (for instance, if they copied material from someone else), they would indemnify you.

Yes, there are copyright implications. A writer's work is automatically copyright when it is created, not when it is registered. You can't copyright someone else's work unless they assign the copyright to you or unless you have employed them to write for you (called "work for hire" in copyright law).

This may sound complicated, but it doesn' need to be. Consult with an attorney to help you with the language on the site.

Re: Literary ownership waivers and releases

1. Yes, you need to state your intentions.

2. No, you don't need to pay them, if they allow you to use the story.

3. Yes, you need to get a waiver.

They are not copyrighting their stories by giving them to you, but you cannot publish them, with or without profit, without their permission.