Copyright ownership can be transferred through a contract, assignment or will. The transferee can register the transfer and become the new copyright owner. Licensing is not a transfer of ownership, but allows permission to use the work. Creators can earn money through transfers or licenses.
A transfer of copyright ownership is the act of the creator or owner of a work giving up some or all of the rights to it and giving them to another person or entity. The transfer often takes place in a contract, in the form of an assignment or in a will. In many cases, a transfer of copyright is included in a personal service agreement, and the motivating factor for entering into such agreements is often to obtain ownership of the copyright. The transferee, or transferee, subsequent copyright holders, may submit documentation to public copyright registration offices after the transfer has occurred. Any registered copyright is frequently updated to reflect the transfer and to notify the public of the person or entity that now owns the rights to distribute or reproduce the copyrighted material.
Copyright holders can transfer the rights to others. A copyright transfer can result in compensation for creators, and some creators make a living creating and transferring copyrights. For example, a songwriter who is not operating under a Work Made for Hire contract with a record label may pitch their songs to artists and companies. If a company or artist is interested in the song, then the songwriter or interested party will need to execute a written deed to effect the transfer.
An assignment form can be used to transfer some or all of the copyrights to an assignee, the person who is the recipient of those rights. For example, if an artist has produced a music CD and a distribution company wants to distribute it, the company can ask the artist to sign an assignment form for the transfer of copyright. The language of assignment is also often included in longer documents such as a distribution or registration agreement. The document is evidence that the new copyright owner is the transferee and that the transferor, the original copyright holder, no longer has the exclusive right to distribute or license the transferred work.
Licensing is not a transfer of copyright, because the person licensing retains ownership of the copyright. Creators can grant non-exclusive and exclusive licenses, which are agreements that give the licensee permission to use the work. If the license is non-exclusive, the creator can grant the same rights to the work to someone else without conflicting copyright ownership. Creators can use a transfer or license to earn money from their work.
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