What is the relationship between the copyright owner and the author
Usually the author who completes the work himself You enjoy copyright, including moral rights and property rights, but there are also cases where the copyright property rights do not belong to the author in the case of professional works.
Is there a difference between a copyright owner and an author?
The author is the creation The person who works. The copyright owner is the person who enjoys the copyright. my country's Copyright Law stipulates very clearly that the rights enjoyed by the copyright holder may not be enjoyed by the author. It stipulates that the rights that the author should enjoy may not necessarily be enjoyed by the copyright holder. This must be paid attention to during the copyright protection process. Generally speaking, the author is the person who created the work and is also the copyright holder. He enjoys personal rights and property rights in accordance with the law. The author and copyright holder are the same.
Article 17 of the "Copyright Law" stipulates: "The ownership of the copyright of a commissioned work shall be agreed upon by the consignor and the trustee through a contract. The contract has not explicitly stipulated Or if there is no contract, the copyright belongs to the trustee." It explains that the copyright of the commissioned work can be enjoyed by the client according to the agreement of both parties. At this time, the trustee is only the de facto author, not the copyright owner of the commissioned work. In other words, in the case of a commission agreement, the author is not necessarily the copyright owner.
In real life, disputes over copyright ownership of commissioned works happens very often. For example, if someone is commissioned to write a memoir, the work reflects the client's thoughts, experiences and life, and the specific materials provided by the client. The client believes that the copyright belongs to him, while the trustee believes that he participated in the creation and of course enjoys the copyright; another example is that a school commissions an audio and video department to produce audio and video teaching materials, or a celebrity commissions a painter to paint a portrait for him, etc. etc., these all involve issues of copyright ownership.
Therefore, my country’s copyright lawThe copyright ownership of commissioned works shall be settled through contractual agreement. The client and the trustee should reach an agreement on copyright ownership based on the principles of equality and voluntariness, and on the basis of consensus. The two parties may agree that the personal rights and property rights of the copyright shall be owned by the trustee and the client respectively. If the contract stipulates that the trustee shall have the right of signature and the client shall enjoy other property rights of the copyright. Both parties can also agree that the copyright belongs to both parties jointly. The entrustment contract can be in the form of calligraphy and painting, or it can be a verbal contract. However, in order to avoid future disputes, a written contract should be concluded as much as possible.
If no contract is concluded or the contract does not clearly stipulate the ownership of the copyright, the copyright belongs to the trustee. This provision comes from the principle that "the person who directly creates the work is the author" and is intended to protect the author's creative labor.
If the copyright owner and the author are the same person at the beginning, the copyright can be transferred. After the transfer, the new copyright owner is generally not the author. According to Article 19 of the Copyright Law: "If the copyright belongs to a citizen, it shall be transferred in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code after the citizen's death; if the copyright belongs to a legal person or other organization, after the legal person or other organization changes or terminates, the rights and obligations of the legal person or other organization shall be assumed by If the legal person or other organization does not assume its rights and obligations, it shall be enjoyed by the state.”
If the copyright owner and the author are the same person at the beginning. , if the author dies (or the company is dissolved or terminated), the copyright will be inherited (inherited). In this case, the author and the copyright owner are separated, and the author is no longer the copyright owner.
Copyright owners are copyright owners permitted by law. Once they find that their copyright has been infringed by others, they can protect their rights and interests. Regarding the relationship between the copyright owner and the author, it is the best choice to come to the Legal Savior website to find a professional lawyer to provide you with consulting services. The lawyers here will answer any questions you have.