U.S.A. Copyright Law - Library of Congress. Copyright Office (best sales books of all time txt) 📗

class="calibre1">(4) The termination shall be effected by serving an advance notice in

writing, signed by the number and proportion of owners of termination

interests required under clauses (1) and (2) of this subsection, or by

their duly authorized agents, upon the grantee or the grantee's

successor in title.

(A) The notice shall state the effective date of the termination, which

shall fall within the five-year period specified by clause (3) of this

subsection, and the notice shall be served not less than two or more

than ten years before that date. A copy of the notice shall be recorded

in the Copyright Office before the effective date of termination, as a

condition to its taking effect.

(B) The notice shall comply, in form, content, and manner of service,

with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by

regulation.

(5) Termination of the grant may be effected notwithstanding any

agreement to the contrary, including an agreement to make a will or to

make any future grant.

(b) Effect of Termination. Upon the effective date of termination, all

rights under this title that were covered by the terminated grants

revert to the author, authors, and other persons owning termination

interests under clauses (1) and (2) of subsection (a), including those

owners who did not join in signing the notice of termination under

clause (4) of subsection (a), but with the following limitations:

(1) A derivative work prepared under authority of the grant before its

termination may continue to be utilized under the terms of the grant

after its termination, but this privilege does not extend to the

preparation after the termination of other derivative works based upon

the copyrighted work covered by the terminated grant.

(2) The future rights that will revert upon termination of the grant

become vested on the date the notice of termination has been served as

provided by clause (4) of subsection (a). The rights vest in the author,

authors, and other persons named in, and in the proportionate shares

provided by, clauses (1) and (2) of subsection (a).

(3) Subject to the provisions of clause (4) of this subsection, a

further grant, or agreement to make a further grant, of any right

covered by a terminated grant is valid only if it is signed by the same

number and proportion of the owners, in whom the right has vested under

clause (2) of this subsection, as are required to terminate the grant

under clauses (1) and (2) of subsection (a). Such further grant or

agreement is effective with respect to all of the persons in whom the

right it covers has vested under clause (2) of this subsection,

including those who did not join in signing it. If any person dies after

rights under a terminated grant have vested in him or her, that person's

legal representatives, legatees, or heirs at law represent him or her

for purposes of this clause.

(4) A further grant, or agreement to make a further grant, of any right

covered by a terminated grant is valid only if it is made after the

effective date of the termination. As an exception, however, an

agreement for such a further grant may be made between the persons

provided by clause (3) of this subsection and the original grantee or

such grantee's successor in title, after the notice of termination has

been served as provided by clause (4) of subsection (a).

(5) Termination of a grant under this section affects only those rights

covered by the grants that arise under this title, and in no way affects

rights arising under any other Federal, State, or foreign laws.

(6) Unless and until termination is effected under this section, the

grant, if it does not provide otherwise, continues in effect for the

term of copyright provided by this title.

Section 204. Execution of transfers of copyright ownership-

(a) A transfer of copyright ownership, other than by operation of law,

is not valid unless an instrument of conveyance, or a note or memorandum

of the transfer, is in writing and signed by the owner of the rights

conveyed or such owner's duly authorized agent.

(b) A certificate of acknowledgment is not required for the validity of

a transfer, but is prima facie evidence of the execution of the transfer

if-

(1) in the case of a transfer executed in the United States, the

certificate is issued by a person authorized to administer oaths within

the United States; or

(2) in the case of a transfer executed in a foreign country, the

certificate is issued by a diplomatic or consular officer of the United

States, or by a person authorized to administer oaths whose authority is

proved by a certificate of such an officer.

Section 205. Recordation of transfers and other documents [4]

(a) Conditions for Recordation. Any transfer of copyright ownership or

other document pertaining to a copyright may be recorded in the

Copyright Office if the document filed for recordation bears the actual

signature of the person who executed it, or if it is accompanied by a

sworn or official certification that it is a true copy of the original,

signed document.

(b) Certificate of Recordation. The Register of Copyrights shall, upon

receipt of a document as provided by subsection (a) and of the fee

provided by section 708, record the document and return it with a

certificate of recordation.

(c) Recordation as Constructive Notice. Recordation of a document in the

Copyright Office gives all persons constructive notice of the facts

stated in the recorded document, but only if-

(1) the document, or material attached to it, specifically identifies

the work to which it pertains so that, after the document is indexed by

the Register of Copyrights, it would be revealed by a reasonable search

under the title or registration number of the work; and

(2) registration has been made for the work.

(d) Priority Between Conflicting Transfers. As between two conflicting

transfers, the one executed first prevails if it is recorded, in the

manner required to give constructive notice under subsection (c), within

one month after its execution in the United States or within two months

after its execution outside the United States, or at any time before

recordation in such manner of the later transfer. Otherwise the later

transfer prevails if recorded first in such manner, and if taken in good

faith, for valuable consideration or on the basis of a binding promise

to pay royalties, and without notice of the earlier transfer.

(e) Priority Between Conflicting Transfer of Ownership and Nonexclusive

License. A nonexclusive license, whether recorded or not, prevails over

a conflicting transfer of copyright ownership if the license is

evidenced by a written instrument signed by the owner of the rights

licensed or such owner's duly authorized agent, and if

(1) the license was taken before execution of the transfer; or

(2) the license was taken in good faith before recordation of the

transfer and without notice of it.

Chapter 2 Endnotes

1 In 1978, section 201(e) was amended by deleting the period at the end

and adding ", except as provided under title 11."

2 Title 11 of the United States Code is entitled "Bankruptcy."

3 In 1998, the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act amended section

203 by deleting "by his widow or her widower and his or her

grandchildren" from the first sentence in paragraph (2) of subsection

(a) and by adding subparagraph (D) to paragraph (2). Pub. L. No.

105-298, 112 Stat. 2827, 2829.

4 The Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 amended section 205

by deleting subsection (d) and redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as

subsections (d) and (e), respectively. Pub. L. No. 100-568, 102 Stat.

2853, 2857.

Chapter 3 [1]

Duration of Copyright

Preemption with respect to other laws

Duration of copyright: Works created on or after January 1,

1978

Duration of copyright: Works created but not published or

copyrighted before January 1, 1978

Duration of copyright: Subsisting copyrights Duration of copyright: Terminal date

Section 301. Preemption with respect to other laws [2]

(a) On and after January 1, 1978, all legal or equitable rights that are

equivalent to any of the exclusive rights within the general scope of

copyright as specified by section 106 in works of authorship that are

fixed in a tangible medium of expression and come within the subject

matter of copyright as specified by sections 102 and 103, whether

created before or after that date and whether published or unpublished,

are governed exclusively by this title. Thereafter, no person is

entitled to any such right or equivalent right in any such work under

the common law or statutes of any State.

(b) Nothing in this title annuls or limits any rights or remedies under

the common law or statutes of any State with respect to-

(1) subject matter that does not come within the subject matter of

copyright as specified by sections 102 and 103, including works of

authorship not fixed in any tangible medium of expression; or

(2) any cause of action arising from undertakings commenced before

January 1, 1978;

(3) activities violating legal or equitable rights that are not

equivalent to any of the exclusive rights within the general scope of

copyright as specified by section 106; or

(4) State and local landmarks, historic preservation, zoning, or

building codes, relating to architectural works protected under section

102(a)(8).

(c) With respect to sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, any

rights or remedies under the common law or statutes of any State shall

not be annulled or limited by this title until February 15, 2067. The

preemptive provisions of subsection (a) shall apply to any such rights

and remedies pertaining to any cause of action arising from undertakings

commenced on and after February 15, 2067. Notwithstanding the provisions

of section 303, no sound recording fixed before February 15, 1972, shall

be subject to copyright under this title before, on, or after February

15, 2067.

(d) Nothing in this title annuls or limits any rights or remedies under

any other Federal statute.

(e) The scope of Federal preemption under this section is not affected

by the adherence of the United States to the Berne Convention or the

satisfaction of obligations of the United States thereunder.

(f)(1) On or after the effective date set forth in section 610(a) of the

Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990, all legal or equitable rights that

are equivalent to any of the rights conferred by section 106A with

respect to works of visual art to which the rights conferred by section

106A apply are governed exclusively by section 106A and section 113(d)

and the provisions of this title relating to such sections. Thereafter,

no person is entitled to any such right or equivalent right in any work

of visual art under the common law or statutes of any State. [3]

(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) annuls or limits any rights or remedies

under the common law or statutes of any State with respect to-

(A) any cause of action from undertakings commenced before the effective

date set forth in section 610(a) of the Visual Artists Rights Act of

1990;

(B) activities violating legal or equitable rights that are not

equivalent to any of the rights conferred by section 106A with respect

to works of visual art; or

(C) activities violating legal or equitable rights which extend beyond

the life of the author.

Section 302. Duration of copyright: Works created on or after January 1,

1978 [4]

(a) In General. Copyright in a work created on or after January 1, 1978,

subsists from its creation and, except as provided by the following

subsections, endures for a term consisting of the life of the author and

70 years after the author's death.

(b) Joint Works. In the case of a joint work prepared by two or more

authors