Depending on where Callisto gets the article published, they **COULD** sue Free Republic, and I don't want to see something like that happen when Callisto asked a valid question trying to get an answer.
Based on the “works done for hire” doctrine, in most cases, the author of an article does **NOT** retain copyright once it's been published, whether that publication is in a book, magazine, newspaper, website, or some other format.
“Works done for hire” generally become the copyrighted property of the person or organization that commissioned them unless otherwise specified by an employment or freelancing contract. If Callisto is being paid for articles published on someone else’s website, even though she's the author, she no longer owns the copyright unless she has something in writing specifying that she retains copyright. If she's not being paid, the website owner may or may not own copyright depending on whether noncash compensation changed hands, but that's a question for the lawyers in the absence of a written agreement.
Here's three possible solutions that could make everybody happy.
1. About a half-decade ago, the newspaper for which I then worked had a freelancer who was retired from Army Public Affairs, was writing a book, and wanted to retain copyright. We wrote up a contract specifying that the freelancer would retain copyright but the newspaper would have exclusive reproduction rights for a 30-day period. Callisto, if you're a professional freelancer, it's worth the money to spend a couple of hundred dollars to get your lawyer — NOT the publisher's lawyer — to write up a contract like this. If writing is what you do for a living, get the legal stuff handled before somebody gets mad and threatens to take you to court. Lawyers can protect you from really, really bad problems.
2. Callisto could ask the website owner for written permission to post the article in full on Free Republic since they probably own the copyright if they're paying her. If they say yes, end of problem. Even if Callisto isn't being paid for her work, that's probably best if the publisher wants to retain copyright.
3. Callisto could ask for a written statement from the website that she retains copyright which includes an acknowledgment that she intends to post it in full on Free Republic and possibly elsewhere. That would likely be the best solution if Callisto wants to reprint her article somewhere else down the road, **ESPECIALLY** if she wants to ever be paid for this same article in the future.
Again, I'm trying to help. Please don't flame me... this isn't my fight, but I don't want to see Free Republic sued when there are easy ways to prevent that problem from happening.
You’re probably right.
I just get damned sick of folks who write stuff posting it
in full all over creation but excerpting it here on Free Republic.
The vast majority of them do it to get blog hits, treating us as a hit farm.
I get a bit obsessive about it sometimes.
Thank you very much for the informative reply. I do freelance my work and thus receive payment for my articles and, to date, still suffer under the clause “excerpt only” for crossposts to my blog, but in this situation cannot crosspost due to the nature of my existing contract, thus my question.
As a strong conservative and monthly donor I am committed to seeing the information posted to this site reach as many conservatives as possible and honestly meant it as a serious question when posed to humblegunner. I wrote for Horowitz’s NewsReal until the site closed and copied some of my articles in entirety to my blog thereafter not knowing how long the articles will remain available, but my current position doesn’t offer that luxury. I will take your points into consideration the next time I become contractually obligated to an online source. Thank you, again!