Did Mark Twain Violate Former Slave Mary Ann Cord’s Common Law Copyright Protections?

Former slave Mary Ann Cord recounted an oral history to Mark Twain about her tragic experiences while enslaved. Twain subsequently published A True Story, Repeated Word for Word as I Heard It. But Cord never received any credit for the work, nor a dime of the proceeds from the sale of the book. Through the lens of common law copyright law, Cumberland School of Law’s Tim McFarlin takes a close look at whether Cord should have been considered a co-author of Twain’s book, entitling her (and her heirs) to both credit and compensation.