Appellant husband sought review of judgment of the Superior Court of Alameda County (California) that respondent wife was the co-owner of an undivided interest in the copyrights of trivia books that the husband authored.
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Overview
Appellant wrote and published two trivia books during his marriage to respondent. In their divorce decree, they agreed to divide the royalties from the books equally. Appellant filed an action in federal court for copyright infringement. respondent sought an order declaring that she was entitled to half of any proceeds from the lawsuit. The trial court granted respondent's request and ordered appellant restrained from disbursing the proceeds of any verdict or settlement until the wife's portion was accounted for. On appeal, the court affirmed the judgment. The copyrights were derived from the time and skill of appellant during the marriage, and they were community property. A stipulated judgment divided only future book royalties and not intangible copyrights, nonetheless, as property interests acquired during marriage that remained undistributed under the terms of the interlocutory judgment, title to such undivided interests in the copyrights was held by appellant and respondent as tenants in common. And as a common owner of the copyright, respondent was entitled to share in all of the proceeds therefrom, including a settlement or award resulting from copyright infringement.
Outcome
The court affirmed the judgment because the marital community had an interest in a copyright.
