The former, as heirs to his estate, claim to be the rightful owners, but the latter, to the surprise of many, managed to show a note written indisputably in Hu Shih's hand giving the book firm copyrights.
胡適紀念館認為，他們是胡適之子胡祖望授權的「正宗」；但遠東圖書公司卻出人意外地，拿出一張經胡適親筆簽名的紙條，證明著作權為雙方所共有。