The transfer occurs when the transferor signs a contract. The transfer of copyright refers to the act of a citizen, legal person or other organization as the copyright owner transferring all or part of the property rights in the copyright to another person. Among them, rights with personal attributes such as the right to publish, the right to authorize, the right to modify, and the right to protect the integrity of the work cannot be transferred. The copyright owner who transfers the copyright is called the assignor, and the other person who accepts the copyright is called the assignee.
1. Transfer method
(1) Paid and free
The transfer of copyright can be paid or free. The former is through sale or exchange, and the latter is through donation or bequest.
(2) Separate transfer and geographical transfer
Various property rights in copyright are not necessary All are transferred to the same citizen, legal person or other organization, and the copyright owner can make multiple choices regarding the transferred rights. Copyright owners can transfer their publishing rights and translation rights to publishing houses and translation companies respectively; in addition, copyright owners can also transfer the adaptation rights of different art forms to different adapters.
Copyright owners can also transfer their copyrights geographically. For example, it can transfer the broadcast rights in Beijing and Guangdong to a radio station in Beijing and a radio station in Guangdong respectively.
2. Legal form
The transfer of copyright must go through certain procedures. legal form. Among the countries that allow the transfer of copyright, some require written form or other legal forms as a requirement for validity, while others require registration procedures to be used against third parties.
In my country, a written contract must be entered into to transfer copyright, and the main contents should include the following:
(1) The name of the work;
(2) The type and geographical scope of the transferred rights;
(3) Transfer price;
(4) Date and method of delivery of transfer price;
(5) Liability for breach of contract;
(6) Other contents deemed necessary by both parties.
In the transfer contract, the rights not explicitly transferred by the copyright owner may not be exercised by the other party without the consent of the copyright owner. If a transfer contract is concluded with the copyright owner, it may be filed with the copyright administrative department.
3. Distinction from the licensed use of the work
Copyright The transfer must be the transfer of property rights with complete rights to another person, including a series of rights of use, income, and disposal. And once the right is transferred, the original copyright owner loses the right, and the transferee becomes the new copyright owner.
The licensed use of works means that the copyright owner allows others to use his works within a certain period of time and within a certain geographical scope, and charges a certain amount of royalties from the licensee the behavior of. In this case, the copyright still belongs to the copyright owner.
If the assignee of a copyright can only use the work and can no longer freely transfer its rights, what the assignee actually enjoys is the license to use the work. .
4. Transfer period
There is no fixed time limit for the transfer of copyright the term. In some countries, the transfer period of copyright is the entire copyright protection period; while in other countries, the transfer period is limited to a number of years within the copyright protection period.