It’s nothing supernatural, believe me! In fact, it refers to a professional with writing skills who works silently, without appearing, at the request of a person who needs this type of service, either because they lack the necessary talent, or due to a lack of time, or out of a need to maintain their anonymity.
This type of service has become increasingly common, with a considerable rise in remuneration for professionals in this segment. Along with all these factors, it is common to have questions about the execution of contracts and the subsequent limits of Copyright Law.
In this sense, there are two famous cases involving ghost writers that deserve mention before we analyze the legal contours of this profession. One is the case of Barack Obama’s inaugural speech, whose authorship is attributed to a young man named Jon Favreau, a ghost writer who, at the time, was only 27 years old.
Another case that gained attention was the result of the book “O Doce Veneno do Escorpião,” written by journalist Jorge Tarquini at the request of “Bruna Surfistinha” (Raquel Pacheco), based on the accounts from her blog. The book was a great success and, after being translated into several languages, was adapted for film, generating substantial box office revenue.
After the enormous repercussion of the work, the ghost writer of the book filed a lawsuit against Raquel Pacheco and the respective publisher seeking recognition as the sole author of the work and compensation for damages caused by the violation of the alleged moral and property rights.
The response from the Brazilian Judiciary, both in the São Paulo Court of Justice and in the Superior Court of Justice, was that the ghost writer would not have the right to be recognized as the sole author of the work because he had been hired legally and expressly only to transcribe the story of the character “Bruna Surfistinha,” which had been created by Raquel and whose accounts and passages were already present on her blog.
Therefore, in this specific case, the journalist who acted as a ghost writer was exclusively responsible for compiling the material, correcting grammar, and transcribing it into an editorial format of a story that already existed, based on a character created by Raquel.
From the perspective of Copyright Law, the work of the ghost writer and its limits are not issues that produce an immediate response; it is necessary to analyze each case to verify what type of action the professional took and what the contribution of creative content was to that work.
In the case of the book “O Doce Veneno do Escorpião,” since it was based on a vast amount of material already produced and registered on a blog, it was concluded that the hired ghost writer had not produced creative or original content but merely compiled and transcribed a pre-existing story. This type of professional activity resembles the work of an editor, who does not produce a new work but merely reviews and organizes the submitted material.
However, it is essential to highlight the necessary caution when establishing a partnership with a ghost writer, meaning that all nuances and limitations of this professional’s role must be outlined in the signed contract to ensure it is as faithful and ethical as possible for both parties.