Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Iowa

Re: ownership of letters found

as per law you cant"t published the letter unless proper investigation has been made in this regards.

as per copy right act before publishing the same you have to collect all materials with you that you have tried to find out the writer or his successor or legal heirs, and if you are not able to locate the same after giving due advotiesment as per provisions of law you can published the same withnote below the letters aboubt the aunthicity so that in case of litigation in future by some body who clims rights , same can be defended.

it is difficult to find out such type of persons

Re: ownership of letters found

I don't believe you can publish the letters until you've tracked down the chain of title. In other words, find the owner of the copyright in the letters and get their permission. As one copyright scholar notes in this situation:

". . . works in common law copyright (such as unpublished letters) as of that date (1978) remain protected by statutory copyright until December 31, 2002; if published prior thereto, protection subsists December 31, 2047. As a result, the foregoing rights of the letter writer (or of his successors) must continue to be considered--even when letters under consideration were written in the distant past, by a writer who has been dead for many decades or even centuries."

Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright Sec. 504 at 5-58 to 5-59 (1999).

Thanks for writing and good luck.

Best regards,

Todd D. Epp, Esq.