Can copyright be transferred?
Yes.
Copyright in a work can be assigned by its owner to another person,
organization or company, provided that the assignment is in writing.
The copyright can be assigned in whole or in part, and can be for
the full term of copyright, or any part of it. It can be assigned
generally or subject to limitations such as those relating to territory,
medium or sector of the market. Once the assignment is made, the
original owner has only those rights that the parties have agreed
to in the assignment.
Authors
who submit manuscripts for publication are usually asked to assign
their full copyright to the publisher, in exchange for a royalty
payment. Royalty payments are usually based on a percentage of the
selling price of each copy of the published work.
An
assignment of copyright does not assign an author's moral
rights in the work.
WARNING:
The contents of these FAQs are intended as general legal information
only.
If
you have a personal problem, please consult a lawyer.
December
1998 |