RE: copyright ownership question

["Steve Addison" <steve@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

As a newcomer to this topic, I'm a little confused. Doesn't this simply
amount to a question about who owns the assets of a corporation that has
closed down without a formal bankruptcy rather than a question about
copyright?

-----Original Message-----
From: Bradley Brazzeal [mailto:bbrazzeal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, November 01, 2004 1:35 PM
To: digital-copyright@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: copyright ownership question


A faculty member asked me a question about copyright ownership, and I
could use some help finding the answer. The faculty member used to work
for a corporation that closed down, but it did not declare bankruptcy.
As an employee for the corporation, he produced material as "works made
for hire," and he would now like to use those works for things such as
professional presentations. If the business entity was not a
corporation, I would assume that the owners would maintain ownership of
the copyrights. But for corporations, it is unclear to me.

I have looked through the copyright code, searched various databases,
and tried to find relevant cases in West's Federal Practice Digest 4th,
but I have not found anything addressing this issue. I would appreciate
any help that anyone could give.

Thank you.

Brad Brazzeal
Instruction Services Librarian
Mississippi State University Libraries
bbrazzeal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx