California | Intellectual Property
Legal Question
Copyright & Trademark of Newsletter for a Non-Profit Organization
I am chairperson of a non-profit organization. The organization’s purpose (under a letter of understanding with a city) is the support, maintenance & improvement of a leash-free dog. The group began as a volunteer effort in 1994 & incorporated as a CA non-profit in2000. In 1996, one of the original volunteers started a quarterly newsletter that I am told has been published every quarter since then. At some point she started being paid to write & edit. She has just informed me that she no longer wants to edit the newsletter. Additionally, she informs me that she “registered the names ... in 1996 with the full approval of the volunteer Committee. You cannot, therefore, use any variation of … without my permission, and I do not give my permission.” What documentation should I request from her to support her claim? Or can the non-profit organization just continue to use the title if we want to?
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