OfflineAm I the first to post? :) I have a question about extortion. I wrote content (almost 99%) of a website. I was led to believe that I was a FULL partner in this business. I recieved no pay. Since I was lead to believe that my musings, product descriptions, and content (my intellectual property) where bettering OUR business, and I was never PAID, is that considered extortion?
I was lead to believe that we were equal partners. We were in a personal relationship as well. We did cohabitate and some funds were used to pay HIS house payment where we lived.
I have consulted a couple of attornies and they have differing opinions. Could you please provide yours. I am well aware you are not my legal representative and blah, blah, blah. I would just like to hear another opinion or happily accept many more opinions! :)
Thanks for the site, it had helped me understand copyright and some other issues better.
I am curious about lawyer's educations as well. Do most or any law schools require young lawyers to do legal aide to those that can't afford an attorney?
MADwriter, Considering MADattorney, Winston-Salem, NC, Home of Wake Forest University
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However, it sounds like the work you and your partner did on the website might constitute a "jointly authored" work, in which case you would have certain legal rights to the use and value of the work. For example, if you wrote the content of the website and your partner designed the layout, it is likely that you would both hold an equal interest in the copyright. As a joint author, you would have the right to reproduce the work without your former partner's permission. Of course, this goes both ways, so your former partner could also reproduce the work without your permission. However, as a joint author, you would be entitled to an equal share of any value of the work. For more information on copyright ownership and joint authorship, see the Copyright section of CMLP's Legal Guide.
You and your former partner might not be bound by the rules of jointly authored work if you entered into a separate agreement before you started working. For example, if you had a valid verbal or written contract that provided that you would create part of the website in return for a one-time payment, that agreement may trump the traditional rules of joint authorship. I recommend speaking to an attorney about the specific facts of your agreement.
As to your second question about lawyers' education, most schools do encourage students to participate in legal aid programs. Many schools offer clinical programs for second- and third-year students, in which students practice law under the supervision of a licensed attorney. The focus of such clinics vary. For example, North Carolina's Wake Forest University School of Law has several clinics, including a community law and business clinic. You can find more information about Wake Forest's clinics here, and most other law schools provide information about their clinics on their websites.