Estate Of Stanley Kauffmann v. Rochester Institute Of Technology

2018 WL 3731445 (2018)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Stanley Kauffmann (P) was an author of numerous movie reviews primarily for The New Republic. At issue is the republication of 141 of those reviews in a book authored by third party defendant Robert J. Cardullo and published by an entity belonging to RIT (D). The Estate of Stanley Kauffmann claims that 44 of those reviews violated P's copyright in them. D claims P and The New Republic agreed in 2004 that all the reviews Kauffman wrote for the journal were a 'work made for hire' as defined in the Copyright Act of 1976. Both parties moved for summary judgment. D presents a March 22, 2004 letter signed by P. It states that the agreement with P and The New Republic has always been an oral understanding, and among other things, we do want to ensure that we are not violating your rights in any way. It then asked for a confirmation of that understanding that P has been writing articles for The New Republic as a freelance contributor and that all the articles have been 'works made for hire,' as that term is defined under the US Copyright laws. It asked that P acknowledge the agreement by signing the letter. The letter was signed. P attacks the letter but both sides agreed that the letter was on its face a contract and that New York law controlled.