Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Massachusetts
intellectual property
About two years ago, I submitted a short story I had written to a very well-known, highly-regarded children's author/illustrator to ask if he would consider illustrating it. He said yes and that a publishing company he is connected with would be interested. Ever since, every time I ask about the progress of the work, he either doesn't answer me or if he does, his replies have nothing to do with what I ask. If he were not such an illustrious writer, I would think he is stealing my story or the idea for it. Can this be possible? What can I do since he does not seem to answer me anymore? Can something legal be done? If he has lost interest in the project, wouldn't he say so? I am upset and confused since I do not want the story claimed as his own. Is there any legal action I can take?
Sincere thanks
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: intellectual property
If you have not already done so, you should register the work with the US Copyright Office. Then, bring all of the correspondence to a lawyer with experience in copyright matters for an opinion on your legal situation.
Best wishes,
LDWG
Re: intellectual property
You describe the classic symptoms of IP misappropriation. Usually when a party that has possession of another's IP stalls, ignores and dodges questions concerning the work, they are up to no good. Unfortunately, well known and respected artists "steal" other people's creative works all the time. They even take advantage of those who fail to properly protect their IP prior to disclosure to the artist.
I would recommend, beyond registering the work for copyright protection, sending an attorney letter asking for a pass letter concerning your work and the immediate return of the original and all duiplicate copies of it to you. This should at least flesh out the person's position concerning the rights to use and ownership of your work. Otherwise, the person will likely continue to ignore and manipulate you.
Good luck. Feel free to contact me directly for help.
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