Contracts lie at the heart of the regulatory system governing the creation and dissemination of cultural products in two respects: (1) The exclusive rights provided by copyright law only turn into financial reward, and thus incentives to creators, through a contract with a third party to exploit...

In a 1999 article, I explored the problem that arises when one party -- whom I called the hiring party -- commissions a work from another party -- whom I called the hired party. The hired party is generally found to be the sole author of the work. The question then becomes: If the hired party is...