Can a copyright transfer be subject to a time limit?
Answer: Can a copyright transfer be subject to a time limit? This important issue first needs to start from defining the licensed use and transfer of copyright.
Tong said that the use of copyright permission is the copyright owner's The right or legal act to license or authorize others to use one's work.
However, the General Statement only summarizes the basic forms of copyright permission granted by the copyright holder, and does not summarize other forms of copyright permission such as statutory permission. , therefore, the General Statement does not outline all features of the permitted use.
The author believes that copyright licensing refers to authorizing others in a certain way, within a certain period and within a certain region based on the authorization of the copyright owner or legal regulations. The right or legal action to commercially exploit a work or product.
Copyright transfer refers to the legal act in which the copyright owner transfers part or all of his copyright property rights to others and makes them become new copyright owners.
Copyright licensing and copyright transfer are the legal manifestations of the separation of ownership and use rights of copyright property rights. License transfer only transfers the right to use, the ownership of the copyright does not transfer, and no new copyright holder will be created; what transfers the copyright transfers is the ownership of the copyright, and not only the right to use will be transferred, but more fundamentally The legal act of transferring ownership creates a new copyright owner.
Can copyright transfer be subject to a time limit?
Understand copyright transfer Whether a time limit can be attached requires a correct understanding and comprehensive grasp of the Copyright Law and itsIt is based on other relevant legal provisions. The author believes that copyright transfer should be subject to a time limit, and the contract in this case is a transfer contract. The legal basis and reasons are as follows:
First, the transfer of copyright property rights can be subject to a time limit, which is supported by copyright law. Paragraph 3 of Article 10 of the "Copyright Law" stipulates: "The copyright owner may transfer all or part of the rights specified in paragraphs 1 to 1 of this article, and receive remuneration in accordance with the agreement or the relevant provisions of this Law." Here, "all "or part" shall include all or part of the rights specified in items 1 to 1 of this article, and shall also include all or part of the rights of each right during the entire copyright protection period. The entire copyright property right is the copyright of all rights during the entire copyright protection period. Partial copyright property rights can be: 1. Copyright of all rights for a certain period of time within the copyright protection period; 2. Copyright of some rights for a certain period of time during the entire copyright protection period; 3. Copyright of some rights for a certain period of time within the entire copyright protection period. . Therefore, “all or part” here should include all or part of all rights and all or part of the entire protection period. The comment in Civil Ruling No. 859 of Minshenzi that a copyright transfer contract cannot have a time limit is that the understanding of all or part of it is only based on all or part of the rights. This understanding is incomplete.
The entire copyright protection period is a time period in itself. Copyright property rights cannot be permanently protected, and there cannot be permanent one-time transfer. If copyright only has rights and no time period, there would be no copyright and its protection. Therefore, copyright is a two-dimensional right to the world consisting of title and duration. If during a long period of protection that lasts for the author’s lifetime plus 50 years after his death, as long as the transfer is for the entire protection period, then during this long period of time new copyright items will appear, how will the validity of the transfer contract be handled? Will it apply to new rights in the future? Therefore, the transfer of copyright cannot have a time limit, which not only fails to solve the problem of whether the effectiveness of the transfer contract can extend to new rights, but is also contrary to the legislative purpose of the Copyright Law to protect the creative enthusiasm of the copyright holder.
Second, whether a copyright transfer has a time limit is determined by the principle of contractual autonomy. Article 25 of the Copyright Law stipulates that a rights transfer contract shall include the following main contents: other contents deemed necessary by both parties. This is a full manifestation of the principle of contractual autonomy. Whether there is a time limit for copyright transfer shall be determined based on the understanding, negotiation and needs of both parties. The law itself does not interfere and does not get involved in academic debates. As long as this agreement does not violate the mandatory provisions of the Copyright Law, the law should determine the legality and validity of the agreement. Civil Ruling No. 1501 of Minshenzi recognized the nature of the contract as a copyright transfer contract, and adhered to this principle relatively well.Return to legal rationality. At the same time, the determination that Minshenzi Civil Ruling No. 859 was contrary to rationality was promptly corrected.
Third, the Contract Law clearly stipulates that the contract can stipulate a time limit. The Contract Law is the basic law regulating copyright contract relationships. Article 53 of the Copyright Law stipulates that “if a party fails to perform its contractual obligations or performs its contractual obligations without meeting the agreed conditions, it shall bear civil liability in accordance with the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China and other relevant laws. .” In other words, the basic provisions of contract law apply to copyright contracts. Article 46 of the "Contract Law" stipulates, "The parties may agree on a time limit for the validity of the contract. A contract with an effective time limit shall be effective when the time limit expires. A contract with a termination time limit shall be invalid when the time limit expires." This should be It is the direct legal basis for the copyright transfer contract to be attached with a time limit.
The above is the relevant information compiled by the editor of Legal Savior Network on whether there is a time limit for copyright transfer. To sum up, there is generally no limit on the time limit for copyright transfer, but we can attach a time limit when signing the contract. Of course, if your situation is more complex, Legal Savior Network welcomes you for legal consultation.
