Basics of Assigning Copyright

Copyright is an intellectual property, which is meant the creative people around the world. It is not a tangible right but is a proprietary right and can be disposed-off in a similar manner. With the copyright registration, nobody is entitled to use a person’s creation without the prior permission of the creator. Thus, the law provides a right to the owner of the copyright to transfer the ownership of the copyright to a third party for the optimum utilization of the same, for the benefit of the common mass. For the transfer of the same there is a deed agreement known as copyright assignment deed.

Notable Points in Copyright Assignment

1. It is an opportunity for the first owner of the copyright to obtain pecuniary benefits. The assignment must specify the amount of copyright. The creator shall not assign or waive the right to receive royalties to be shared on an equal basis with the assignee of copyright, subject to certain conditions
2. The Copyright Act states that, in case of an assignment of copyright in any future work, it shall take effect only when the work comes into existence. In this regard, “assignee” includes the legal representatives of the assignee, if he dies before the work comes into existence.
3. The ownership may be assigned either wholly or partially.
4. The Copyright Assignment must be in writing and signed by the assignor or by his duly authorized agent.
5. The assignment should also specify the duration. In case the deed is silent, it should be assumed to be for 5 years.
6. The agreement deed may specify the territorial extent of such assignment. If silent, it shall be presumed to extend within India.
7. The assignment shall be subject to revision, extension, or termination on terms mutually agreed upon by the parties.
8. Where the assignee fails to exercise his rights within one year from the date of assignment, the assignment in respect of such right shall be deemed to have lapsed, unless otherwise specified in the assignment deed.
9. If the assignment is in contrary to the terms and conditions of the rights already assigned to a copyright society to which the creator is a member, it shall be deemed void.
10. The creator is entitled to subsequent royalties in the course of future exploitation of a cinematographic film, which includes his work, other than by way of exhibitions in a cinema hall.
11. In the case of a manuscript, the copyright is a personal property of the owner and can transmit by testamentary disposition.
12. The equitable assignment is just the agreement to assign.
13. The assignee has the rights of translation, abridgment, adaptation, dramatic and filmmaking in the work after obtaining the rights via assignment deed.
14. For relinquishment of work, the author has to give notice in the prescribed form to the Registrar of Copyrights or by way of public notice. On its receipt, Registrar shall publish it in the Official Gazette. With 14 days of the publication, the Registrar shall post the notice on the official website of Copyright Office, so that such notice remains in the public domain for not less than three years. Such right shall cease to exist from the date of the notice.

For the Registered Copyright, Assignee has to make an application for registration of changes in the particulars of copyright entered in the Register of Copyrights according to the Copyright Rules, 1958. Attested copies of the deeds of assignments should be enclosed with the application.