>> In terms of copyright there is no thing like
>> 'lost ownership' Copyright (and other intelectual
>> property) is always originated by natural persons,
>> And if any kind of licencee (company, temopral owner)
>> is closed and no legal successor is available the rights
>> return to the original Author/Inventor.
>
>What happens if the author/inventor dies?
I just went through a huge ordeal similiar to this in trying to get
Resnova's NovaServer (BBS server) put into the public domain.
The following, of course, does not constitute legal advice. ;-)
To quote Peter E. Converse:
---Start Quote---
When you say that ResNova "no longer exists in any way shape or form",
that
may mean several different things. It may mean that ResNova has gone
through a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation, that its corporate charter has
been allowed to lapse, or merely that its operations have been abandoned.
Each of these possibilities leads to several different outcomes.
First, if ResNova is bankrupt, any intellectual property (like NovaServer)
would pass temporarily through the hands of a bankruptcy trustee, receiver
or debtor-in-possession. Then, this person probably would have attempted
to sell this intellectual property to satisfy the debts of the company.
If
ResNova is still going through a bankruptcy, you could contact the trustee
or receiver by checking federal Bankruptcy records.
Second, if ResNova's corporate charter has been allowed to lapse (which is
what I think you mean, if I had to bet), that corporation still owns the
intellectual property in question, even though it no longer exists under
the laws of the state of incorporation (subject to my comments about
abandonment below). You might be able to arrange to purchase or license
the IP by contacting the officers of the company. To find out who they
are, you could contact the Secretary of State of the state in which
Resnova
was originally incorporated. This would probably be the State of its
primary operations, or, alternatively, Delaware, NY or Calif. Any
Secretary of State will tell you, over the phone, the name of the
registered agent (prob an attorney or officer of the company) who could
help you arrange a purchase or license.
Third, if ResNova's shareholders, officers, directors and creditors have
all disappeared, you might be able to treat this intellectual property as
having been "abandoned." Unfortunately, if you do so, you may be
subjecting yourself to legal liability for unlicensed use of the IP in the
event that any of these folks turn up later. The burden in court would be
placed on you to prove that you made a rigorous effort to find the owners
and that they really had abandoned the asset. I would suggest making
thorough investigations as described in the above two paragraphs before
simply assuming that the asset has been abandoned.
Of course, you should understand that this information is merely general
and is not legal advice rendered as to specific facts. You should
probably
consult an attorney before taking any actions in this matter.
Let me know if I can be of any further assistance. I represent a number
of
software developers, consultants, consumer product marketers and IT
professionals.
Good Luck.
Peter E. Converse
The Law Offices of Peter E. Converse
8 South Michigan Avenue
Suite 2600
Chicago, Illinois 60603
(312) 214-0661
(312) 332-0600 Fax
convers_at_interaccess.com
---End Quote---
--
Sysop of Caesarville Online
Client software at: <http://home.earthlink.net/~tomowad/>
Received on Wed Sep 02 1998 - 16:14:35 BST