Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Connecticut

Re: Photo Resale.

Your answer depends on the terms under which the local paper publishes the photos. The question is who holds the copyright? If your wife signed an agreement at any time with the paper granting copyright in published photos to them, she'll need to get their permission to republish. If she signed an agreement granting copyright in one photo to them, she'll need to get their permission to republish that photo. If the paper has a standard photographer's agreement that your wife signed, it may include a "work made for hire" clause, in which case she will definitely need to get their permission to republish.

Other factors may also enter in to determine whether your wife has the right to republish without permission from the local paper.

Get your *_copyright_ attorney* (not employment, not general; COPYRIGHT) to take a good, hard look at any agreement your wife signed with the local paper. As copyright is exclusively federal, I can handle this for you if you'd like, even though we're in different states.

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