SILENT STORYTELLERS

The BBC pays tribute to ghost-writers. These plucky characters put words into the mouths of celebrities, writing the autobiographies of the rich and famous, and sometimes even the man in the street. However, these unsung spectres do not begrudge the credit for the stories to those that employ them. The BBC reports on a conversation with Tom Watts, ghost-writer of David Beckham’s autobiography



‘He says: "I was just delighted for him. It does not matter to me, I have got a life to get on with."

Like most ghost-writers Mr Watt, who is currently working on a paperback edition of the book to include Beckham's difficult months in Spain, insists the story does not belong to him.

"Why should David have a literary voice? I'm the writer. It's just the need to get things down on paper."’



To the IPKat, this seems like the antithesis of the copyright ideal. Under copyright law, it’s the expression that is granted protection and not the idea or story behind that expression. Moreover, he thinks that it would be strange if ghost-writers who are so willing to denounce their share of the credit could assert their moral rights in this situation.

Ghost-writers here and here