The right of transfer refers to the legal act by which the copyright owner transfers all or part of the property rights in the copyright to others with or without compensation. This transfer can usually be accomplished through sale, exchange, gift or bequest. The copyright owner who transfers the copyright is called the assignor, and the other person who accepts the copyright is called the assignee. In countries that allow the transfer of copyright, only the property rights in the copyright can be transferred, and the personal rights in the copyright cannot be transferred. In some countries, copyright transfer must be in a written contract or other legal form and signed by the copyright owner or his agent to be valid. In some countries, copyright transfer must undergo registration procedures to protect against third parties.
The transfer of copyright must be the transfer of complete property rights. That is to say, whether the copyright is transferred, the adaptation right or any other property right must be transferred. The rights to use, profit and disposal are transferred together. If the transferee can only use the work but cannot freely license others to use the work, or cannot freely transfer his rights, this incomplete transfer of rights is not actually a transfer of copyright in the strict sense, but a license to use the work.
Various property rights in copyright can be transferred separately. For example, transfer the publishing rights to the publishing house, transfer the performance rights to the performance group, transfer the recording rights to the audio and video company, transfer the broadcast rights to the radio station, etc. Even a single property right can be transferred to different people based on different uses. For example, the transferor transfers the translation rights of the French version of the translation rights to Publishing House A, the translation rights of the English version to Publishing House B, the translation rights of the German version to Publishing House C, and so on.
Judging from the situation in different countries, copyright transfer can be permanent, that is, for the entire copyright protection period; it can also be limited, that is, within the copyright protection period. several years. There is a difference between a term transfer and an exclusive license.
