Author, author: the complex relationship between copyright, authorship and the media release

Abstract

Ownership and authorship of created works have long been assumed to belong to the originators of the work. However the practicality of authorship and ownership may be very different. This paper consider the ideologies of Kant, Locke, Baurillard, Marx and others to discuss the ownership and authorship question in the very practical context of media release usage by news journalists. It raises these topics against the very important framework of Copyright ownership, drawing together the complex, yet inter-related, fields of Copyright law, authorship, the role public relations and the news media. In doing this it delivers a unique and, at times, provocative perspective about current communication practice and third party authorship.