Copyright

[vulcan42]

If a letter sent to a national newspaper is published who owns the copyright, is it the writer or the newspaper?

[hc4361]

The Economist:
Can I reproduce the "Letters to the Editor"?
No, all "Letters to the Editor" remain the copyright of the letter writer and therefore we cannot grant permission to reproduce them.

[hc4361]

Each newspaper may have its own terms. If it is important to you it is best to clarify the situation before you submit your letter.

[vulcan42]

hc4361, thank you for replying. This question arose the other day in the local. A friend, who was in the group, has over the years submitted dozens of letters for publication to the Daily Telegraph. He now says he's going to put these letters, along with the replies he received, into a book. Another member of the group then said once the letter was published he no longer held the copyright. A discussion followed and the only thing that was resolved was none of us knew what the situation was.

[Peter Pedant]

I dont know how much of this is an answer

http://dearrichblog.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/letters-to-editor-who-owns-rights.html

letters to technical journals are usually formally assigned

I think he has to ask the ed of the teleg

[hc4361]

Quickest way to get an answer is to tweet the question to The Telegraph on Twitter.