Copyright Grant Termination
The Copyright Act provides authors and enumerated family members with the power to terminate certain grants upon the completion of paperwork. The termination provisions, 17 U.S.C. §§ 203, 304(c) and 304(d), apply to, among other things, exclusive licenses, non-exclusive licenses, assignments, mortgages, and conveyances. The termination provisions, however, do not provide the right for an author or family members to terminate a “work made for hire” or grants made by will.
Congress enacted the termination provisions to give an “author a second chance to control and benefit from his work” and to “secure to the author’s family the opportunity to exploit the work if the author died.” Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207, 218 (1990).
The Law Office of Shourin Sen will counsel individuals and publishers on termination rights, process the paperwork necessary to execute a termination, and discuss strategies to avoid potential liabilities.
Included below is a calculator designed to help people evaluate the status of termination rights. The Copyright Act’s termination provisions are among the more complex areas of the statute. The calculator does not address all of the issues necessary to make an evaluation of whether an individual or group may terminate a copyright grant. Most notably, the tool does not address the number and structure of decadents needed to terminate a pre-1978 grant when an author passed without a will. The tool should nonetheless provide a decent starting point. If you are an individual or publisher who is interested in evaluating the status of termination rights you should seek the counsel of an attorney with a background in copyright law.
Termination Calculator
You entered that the date of the grant was
and that the grant was made by the author’s widow or widower, grandchildren, executor, administrator, personal
representative, or trustee.
Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 203, you will not likely be able to effect a termination. Grants made on or after January 01, 1978 must be “executed by the author” to be terminable. 17 U.S.C. § 203(a).
You entered that the date of the grant was
, that the grant was made by the author or authors, and that the grant did not include the right of publication.
Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 203, the grant may be terminated between and . The termination is effected by serving advance written notice on the grantee between two and ten years before the termination date, and recording the notice with the Copyright Office before the termination date. 17 U.S.C. § 203(a)(4)(A).
You entered that the date of the grant was
, that the grant was made by the author or authors, and that the grant did not include the right of publication.
Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 203, the grant may be terminated between and . The termination is effected by serving advance written notice on the grantee between two and ten years before the termination date, and recording the notice with the Copyright Office before the termination date. 17 U.S.C. § 203(a)(4)(A).
You entered that the date of the grant was
, the grant was made by the author or authors, the grant included a right of publication, and that the date of publication was
.
Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 203, the grant may be terminated between and . The termination is effected by serving advance written notice on the grantee between two and ten years before the termination date, and recording the notice with the Copyright Office before the termination date. 17 U.S.C. § 203(a)(4)(A).
You entered that the date of grant was
and the work was created after January 01, 1978.
The status of these works is unclear. The Copyright Office recently issued a Request for Comment to determine what termination provision, if any, governs these works. The Copyright Office in its request included two examples of this situation:
Example 1: A composer signed an agreement with a music publisher in 1977 transferring the copyrights to future musical compositions pursuant to a negotiated fee schedule. She created numerous compositions under the agreement between 1978 and 1983, some of which were subsequently published by the publisher transferee. Several of these achieved immediate popular success and have been economically viable ever since. The original contract has not been amended or superseded.
Example 2: A writer signed an agreement with a book publisher in 1977 to deliver a work of nonfiction. The work was completed and delivered on time in 1979 and was published in 1980. The book’s initial print run sold out slowly, but because the author’s subsequent works were critically acclaimed, it was released with an updated cover last year and is now a best seller. The rights remained with the publisher all along and the original royalty structure continues to apply.
You entered that the date of grant was
,
that the work was created before January 01, 1978,
and that the federal copyright was registered/secured on
.
Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 304(c), you may be able to terminate the grant between and . The termination is effected by serving advance written notice on the grantee between two and ten years before the termination date, and recording the notice with the Copyright Office before the termination date. 17 U.S.C. § 304(c)(4)(A).
You entered that the date of grant was
,
that the work was created before January 01, 1978,
that the federal copyright was registered/secured on
,
and that the author or owner of the termination right previously terminated a grant.
Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 304(d), you are unlikely to be able to terminate the grant because the author or owner of the termination right previously terminated the grant. The Act allows an author or owner of the termination right to exercise the right if they have “not previously exercised such termination right . . .” Id.
You entered that the date of grant was
,
that the work was created before January 01, 1978,
that the federal copyright was registered/secured on
,
and that the author or owner of the termination right has not previously terminated a grant.
Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 304(d), you may be able to terminate the grant between and . The termination is effected by serving advance written notice on the grantee between two and ten years before the termination date, and recording the notice with the Copyright Office before the termination date. 17 U.S.C. § 304(d)(2), referencing 17 U.S.C. § 304(c)(4).
