Photographers often submit photos to publishers for inclusion in a book
or magazine. But what happens to the copyright for that photo? Does it
transfer to the publisher? What is the publisher allowed to do with the
copyright?

Unless the copyright to a photo is specifically transferred in total to a
publisher, the publisher’s use of that photo is limited by the usage
agreement. The publisher, however, creates a new copyright, called a
“collective work,” when your photo is combined with other photos, text,
illustrations, etc. Your photo then is covered by two copyrights – one for
the photo itself, and the other as part of a collective work.

On June 6, 2007, Robert H. Bork caused to be filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, wherein he is the named Plaintiff, and the Yale Club of New York City is the named Defendant.

Mr. Bork’s cause of action arises out of an incident which occurred on June 6, 2006, on which date Mr. Bork was visiting the Yale Club, a private club, in New York City, to deliver a speech at a luncheon sponsored by the New Criterion Magazine. It is perhaps interesting to note that Mr. Bork, though not a Yale alum, was a professor at the Yale School of Law during the Sixties and Seventies. He is currently a Professor of Law at the Ave Maria Law School located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It does not appear that he was on medical leave during the 2006-2007 academic year.