Any or all of the copyright owner's exclusive rights
or any subdivision of those rights may be transferred, but the transfer of
exclusive rights is not valid unless that transfer is in writing and signed
by the owner of the rights conveyed or such owner's duly authorized agent.
Transfer of a right on a nonexclusive basis does not require a written agreement.
A copyright may also be conveyed by operation of law and may be bequeathed
by will or pass as personal property by the applicable laws of intestate succession.
Copyright is a personal property right, and it is subject to the various
state laws and regulations that govern the ownership, inheritance, or transfer
of personal property as well as terms of contracts or conduct of business.
For information about relevant state laws, consult an attorney.
Transfers of copyright are normally made by contract. The Copyright Office
does not have any forms for such transfers. The law does provide for the recordation
in the Copyright Office of transfers of copyright ownership. Although recordation
is not required to make a valid transfer between the parties, it does provide
certain legal advantages and may be required to validate the transfer as against
third parties.
Termination of Transfers
Under the previous law, the copyright in a work reverted to the author, if
living, or if the author was not living, to other specified beneficiaries,
provided a renewal claim was registered in the 28th year of the original term.*
The present law drops the renewal feature except for works already in the
first term of statutory protection when the present law took effect. Instead,
the present law permits termination of a grant of rights after 35 years under
certain conditions by serving written notice on the transferee within specified
time limits.
*The copyright in works eligible for renewal on or after June 26, 1992,
will vest in the name of the renewal claimant on the effective date of any
renewal registration made during the 28th year of the original term. Otherwise,
the renewal copyright will vest in the party entitled to claim renewal as
of December 31st of the 28th year.
For works already under statutory copyright protection before 1978, the present
law provides a similar right of termination covering the newly added years
that extended the former maximum term of the copyright from 56 to 95 years.
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