Copyright Law of the United States of America

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48 The Digital Millennium Copyright Act contains an additional
effective date provision for the amendment that changed the date in
subsection 114(f)(1)(A) to December 31, 2001. This provision is
paragraph 405(a)(5) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which is in
Appendix V of this publication.

49 The Record Rental Amendment of 1984 amended section 115 by
redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) of subsection (c) as paragraphs (4)
and (5), respectively, and by adding a new paragraph (3). Pub. L. No.
98-450, 98 Stat. 1727.

In 1997, section 115 was amended by striking "and publish in the Federal
Register" in subparagraph 115(c)(3)(D). Pub. L. No. 105-80, 111 Stat.
1529, 1531. The same legislation also amended section 115(c)(3)(E) by
replacing the phrases "sections 106(1) and (3)" and "sections 106(1) and
106(3)" with "paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 106." Pub. L. No.
105-80, 111 Stat. 1529, 1534.

The Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 amended
section 115 as follows: 1) in the first sentence of subsection (a)(1),
by striking "any other person" and inserting in lieu thereof "any other
person, including those who make phonorecords or digital phonorecord
deliveries,"; 2) in the second sentence of the same subsection, by
inserting before the period "including by means of a digital phonorecord
delivery"; 3) in the second sentence of subsection (c)(2), by inserting
"and other than as provided in paragraph (3)," after "For this
purpose,"; 4) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4) and (5) of subsection
(c) as paragraphs (4), (5) and (6), respectively, and by inserting after
paragraph (2) a new paragraph (3); and (5) by adding after subsection
(c) a new subsection (d). Pub. L. No. 104-39, 109 Stat. 336, 344.

50 Royalty rates specified by the compulsory licensing provisions of
this section are subject to adjustment by copyright arbitration royalty
panels appointed and convened by the Librarian of Congress in accordance
with the provisions of Chapter 8 of title 17 of the *United States
Code*, as amended by the Copyright Royalty Tribunal Reform Act of 1993.
Pub. L. No. 103-198, 107 Stat. 2304.

51 Pursuant to this subsection and section 803(a)(3) of title 17, the
current rates have been established by regulation and may be found at 37
C.F.R. 255.

52 The Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 added section 116A.
Pub. L. No. 100-568, 102 Stat. 2853, 2855. The Copyright Royalty
Tribunal Reform Act of 1993 redesignated section 116A as section 116;
repealed the preexisting section 116; in the redesignated section 116,
struck subsections (b), (e), (f) and (g), and redesignated subsections
(c) and (d) as subsections (b) and (c), respectively; and substituted,
where appropriate, "Librarian of Congress" or "copyright arbitration
royalty panel" for "Copyright Royalty Tribunal." Pub. L. No. 103-198,
107 Stat. 2304, 2309. In 1997, section 116 was amended by rewriting
subsection (b)(2) and by adding a new subsection (d). Pub. L. No.
105-80, 111 Stat. 1529, 1531.

53 In 1980, section 117 was amended in its entirety. Pub. L. No.
96-517, 94 Stat. 3015, 3028. In 1998, the Computer Maintenance
Competition Assurance Act amended section 117 by inserting headings for
subsections (a) and (b) and by adding subsections (c) and (d). Pub. L.
No. 105-304, 112 Stat. 2860, 2887.

54 The Copyright Royalty Tribunal Reform Act of 1993 amended section
118 by striking the first two sentences of subsection (b), by
substituting a new first sentence in paragraph (3) and by making general
conforming amendments throughout. Pub. L. 103-198, 107 Stat. 2304, 2309.
In 1999, a technical amendment deleted paragraph (2) from section
118(e). Pub. L. No. 106-44, 113 Stat. 221, 222.

55 The Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1988 added section 119. Pub. L. No.
100-667, 102 Stat. 3935, 3949. The Copyright Royalty Tribunal Reform Act
of 1993 amended subsections (b) and (c) of section 119 by substituting
"Librarian of Congress" in lieu of "Copyright Royalty Tribunal" wherever
it appeared and by making related conforming amendments. Pub. L. No.
103-198, 107 Stat. 2304, 2310. The Copyright Royalty Tribunal Reform Act
of 1993 also amended paragraph (c)(3) by deleting subparagraphs (B),
(C), (E) and (F) and by redesignating subparagraph (D) as (B), (G) as
(C) and (H) as (D). The redesignated subparagraph (C) was amended in its
entirety and paragraph (c)(4) was deleted. *Id.*

The Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1994 further amended section 119. Pub.
L. No. 103-369, 108 Stat. 3477. In 1997, technical corrections and
clarifications were made to the Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1994. Pub.
L. No. 105-80, 111 Stat. 1529. Those two acts amended section 119 as
follows: 1) by deleting or replacing obsolete effective dates; 2) in
subsection (a)(5), by adding subparagraph (D); 3) in subsection (a), by
adding paragraphs (8), (9) and (10); 4) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by
adjusting the royalty rate for retransmitted superstations; 5) in
subsection (c)(3), by replacing subparagraph (B) with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute; 6) in subsections (d)(2) and (d)(6), by
modifying the definition of "network station" and "satellite carrier";
and 7) in subsection (d), by adding paragraph 11 to define "local
market."

Pursuant to section 4 of the Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1994, the
changes made by that Act to section 119 of the *United States Code*
ceased to be effective on December 31, 1999. Pub. L. No. 103-369, 108
Stat. 3477, 3481. However, section 1003 of the Satellite Home Viewer
Improvement Act of 1999 extended that date to December 31, 2004. Pub. L.
No. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I at 1501A-527.

The Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 amended
section 119 in the first sentence of subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2)(A),
respectively, by inserting the words "and section 114(d)" after "of this
subsection." Pub. L. No. 104-39, 109 Stat. 336, 348. In 1999, a
technical amendment substituted "network station's" for "network's
stations" in section 119(a)(8)(C)(ii). Pub. L. No. 106-44, 113 Stat.
221, 222.

The Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 amended section 119(a)
(1) as follows: 1) by inserting "AND PBS SATELLITE FEED" after
"SUPERSTATIONS" in the paragraph heading; 2) by inserting "performance
or display of a work embodied in a primary transmission made by a
superstation or by the Public Broadcasting Service satellite feed" in
lieu of "primary transmission made by a superstation and embodying a
performance or display of a work," (see endnote 55, *infra*) and 3) by
adding the last sentence, which begins "In the case of the Public
Broadcasting Service." Pub. L. No. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I at
1501A-530 and 543. The Act states that these amendments shall be
effective as of July 1, 1999, except for a portion of the second item,
starting with "performance or display" through "superstation." Pub. L.
No. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I at 1501A-544. The Act also amended
section 119(a) by inserting the phrase "with regard to secondary
transmissions the satellite carrier is in compliance with the rules,
regulations, or authorization of the Federal Communications Commission
governing the carriage of television broadcast stations signals" in
paragraphs (1) and (2) and by inserting into paragraph (2), "a
performance or display of a work embodied in a primary transmission made
by a network station" in lieu of "programming contained in a primary
transmission made by a network station and embodying a performance or
display of a work." *Id.* at 1501A-531 and 544. The Act amended section
119(a)(2) by substituting new language for paragraph (B) and, in
paragraph (C), by deleting "currently" after "the satellite carrier"
near the end of the first sentence. *Id.* at 1501A-528 and 544. It also
amended section 119(a)(4) by inserting "a performance or display of a
work embodied in" after "by a satellite carrier of" and by deleting "and
embodying a performance or display of a work." *Id.* at 1501A-544. The
Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 further amended section
119(a) by adding subparagraph (E) to paragraph (5). *Id.* at 1501A-528.
It amended section 119(a)(6) by inserting "performance or display of a
work embodied in" after "by a satellite carrier of" and by deleting "and
embodying a performance or display of a work."* Id.* The Act also
amended section 119(a) by adding paragraphs (11) and (12). *Id.* at
1501A-529 and 531.

The Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 amended section 119(b)
(1) by inserting "or the Public Broadcasting Service satellite feed"
into subparagraph (B). (See endnote 60, *infra.*) *Id.* at 1501A-530.
The Act amended section 119(c) by adding a new paragraph (4). *Id.* at
1501A-527. The Act amended section 119(d) by substituting new language
for paragraphs (9) through (11) and by adding paragraph (12).* Id.* at
1501A-527, 530 and 531. The Act substituted new language for section
119(e). *Id.* at 1501A-529.

56 The Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 amended section
119(a)(1) by deleting "primary transmission made by a superstation and
embodying a performance or display of a work" and inserting in its place
"performance or display of a work embodied in a primary transmission
made by a superstation." Pub. L. No. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I at
1501A-543. This amendatory language did not take into account a prior
amendment which had inserted "or by the Public Broadcasting Service
satellite feed" after "superstation" into the phrase quoted above that
was deleted. Pub. L. No. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I at 1501A-530.
There was no mention of the phrase "or by the Public Broadcasting
Service satellite feed" in that second amendment. To accommodate both
amendments, the phrase "or by the Public Broadcasting Service satellite
feed" has been placed at the end of the new language, after
"superstation."

57 The Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1994 states that "The provisions of
section 119(a)(5)(D) . . . relating to the burden of proof of satellite
carriers, shall take effect on January 1, 1997, with respect to civil
actions relating to the eligibility of subscribers who subscribed to
service as an unserved household before the date of the enactment of
this Act." Pub. L. No. 103-369, 108 Stat. 3477, 3481.

58 It appears that section 1011(b)(2)(D)(i) of the Satellite Home
Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 inadvertently omitted the word "a" when
it amended this paragraph. Pub. L. No. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I
at 1501A-528.

59 The Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1994 states that "The provisions of
section 119(a)(8)[,] . . . relating to transitional signal intensity
measurements, shall cease to be effective on December 31, 1996." Pub. L.
No. 103-369, 108 Stat. 3477, 3481.

60 It appears that Congress intended for the Satellite Home Viewer
Improvement Act of 1999 to amend section 119(a) of title 17, as amended
by section 1005(d) of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999,
by adding a new paragraph (12) at the end thereof. Pub. L. No. 106-113,
113 Stat. 1501, app. I at 1501A-531. However, due to a drafting error,
the reference in the amendment is to section 119(a) as amended by
section 1005(e), instead.

61 It appears that Congress intended for the Satellite Home Viewer
Improvement Act of 1999 to amend section 119(b)(1)(B)(ii) to insert "or
the Public Broadcasting Service satellite feed" after "network station."
Pub. L. No. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I at 1501A-530. However, due
to a drafting error, the reference in the amendment is to section 119(b)
(1)(B)(iii), instead. The Act states that this amendment shall be
effective as of July 1, 1999. Pub. L. No. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app.
I at 1501A-544.

62 The Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 states that
section 119(c)(4) shall be effective as of July 1, 1999. Pub. L. No.
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I at 1501A-527.

63 The Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 states that
section 119(c)(5) shall be effective as of July 1, 1999. Pub. L. No.
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I at 1501A-544.

64 The Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 states that
section 119(d)(9) shall be effective as of July 1, 1999. Pub. L. No.
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I at 1501A-544.

65 The Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 states that
section 119(d)(12) shall be effective as of July 1, 1999. Pub. L. No.
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I at 1501A-544.

66 In 1990, the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act added
section 120. Pub. L. No. 101-650, 104 Stat. 5089, 5133.

67 The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1997, added section 121.
Pub. L. No. 104-197, 110 Stat. 2394, 2416. The Work Made for Hire and
Copyright Corrections Act of 2000 amended section 121 by substituting
"section 106" for "sections 106 and 710." Pub. L. No. 106-379, 114 Stat.
1444, 1445.

68 The Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 added section 122.
Pub. L. No. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I at 1501A-523. The Act states
that section 122 shall be effective as of November 29, 1999. Pub. L. No.
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I at 1501A-544.

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Chapter 2

Copyright Ownership and Transfer

+ 201. Ownership of copyright
+ 202. Ownership of copyright as distinct from ownership of material
object
+ 203. Termination of transfers and licenses granted by the author
+ 204. Execution of transfers of copyright ownership
+ 205. Recordation of transfers and other documents

Section 201. Ownership of copyright {1}

(a) Initial Ownership. Copyright in a work protected under this title
vests initially in the author or authors of the work. The authors of a
joint work are coowner of copyright in the work.

(b) Works Made for Hire. In the case of a work made for hire, the
employer or other person for whom the work was prepared is considered
the author for purposes of this title, and, unless the parties have
expressly agreed otherwise in a written instrument signed by them, owns
all of the rights comprised in the copyright.

(c) Contributions to Collective Works. Copyright in each separate
contribution to a collective work is distinct from copyright in the
collective work as a whole, and vests initially in the author of the
contribution. In the absence of an express transfer of the copyright or
of any rights under it, the owner of copyright in the collective work is
presumed to have acquired only the privilege of reproducing and
distributing the contribution as part of that particular collective
work, any revision of that collective work, and any later collective
work in the same series.

(d) Transfer of Ownership.-

(1) The ownership of a copyright may be transferred in whole or in part
by any means of conveyance or by operation of law, and may be bequeathed
by will or pass as personal property by the applicable laws of intestate
succession.

(2) Any of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright, including any
subdivision of any of the rights specified by section 106, may be
transferred as provided by clause (1) and owned separately. The owner of
any particular exclusive right is entitled, to the extent of that right,
to all of the protection and remedies accorded to the copyright owner by
this title.

(e) Involuntary Transfer. When an individual author's ownership of a
copyright, or of any of the exclusive rights under a copyright, has not
previously been transferred voluntarily by that individual author, no
action by any governmental body or other official or organization
purporting to seize, expropriate, transfer, or exercise rights of
ownership with respect to the copyright, or any of the exclusive rights
under a copyright, shall be given effect under this title, except as
provided under title 11. [2]

Section 202. Ownership of copyright as distinct from ownership of material
object.

Ownership of a copyright, or of any of the exclusive rights under a
copyright, is distinct from ownership of any material object in which
the work is embodied. Transfer of ownership of any material object,
including the copy or phonorecord in which the work is first fixed, does
not of itself convey any rights in the copyrighted work embodied in the
object; nor, in the absence of an agreement, does transfer of ownership
of a copyright or of any exclusive rights under a copyright convey
property rights in any material object.

Section 203. Termination of transfers and licenses granted by the
author [3]

(a) Conditions for Termination. In the case of any work other than a
work made for hire, the exclusive or nonexclusive grant of a transfer or
license of copyright or of any right under a copyright, executed by the
author on or after January 1, 1978, otherwise than by will, is subject
to termination under the following conditions:

(1) In the case of a grant executed by one author, termination of the
grant may be effected by that author or, if the author is dead, by the
person or persons who, under clause (2) of this subsection, own and are
entitled to exercise a total of more than one-half of that author's
termination interest. In the case of a grant executed by two or more
authors of a joint work, termination of the grant may be effected by a
majority of the authors who executed it; if any of such authors is dead,
the termination interest of any such author may be exercised as a unit
by the person or persons who, under clause (2) of this subsection, own
and are entitled to exercise a total of more than one-half of that
author's interest.

(2) Where an author is dead, his or her termination interest is owned,
and may be exercised, as follows:

(A) the widow or widower owns the author's entire termination interest
unless there are any surviving children or grandchildren of the author,
in which case the widow or widower owns one-half of the author's
interest;

(B) the author's surviving children, and the surviving children of any
dead child of the author, own the author's entire termination interest
unless there is a widow or widower, in which case the ownership of one-
half of the author's interest is divided among them;

(C) the rights of the author's children and grandchildren are in all
cases divided among them and exercised on a per stirpes basis according
to the number of such author's children represented; the share of the
children of a dead child in a termination interest can be exercised only
by the action of a majority of them.

(D) In the event that the author's widow or widower, children, and
grandchildren are not living, the author's executor, administrator,
personal representative, or trustee shall own the author's entire
termination interest.

(3) Termination of the grant may be effected at any time during a period
of five years beginning at the end of thirty-five years from the date of
execution of the grant; or, if the grant covers the right of publication
of the work, the period begins at the end of thirty-five years from the
date of publication of the work under the grant or at the end of forty
years from the date of execution of the grant, whichever term ends
earlier.

(4) The termination shall be effected by serving an advance notice in
writing, signed by the number and proportion of owners of termination
interests required under clauses (1) and (2) of this subsection, or by
their duly authorized agents, upon the grantee or the grantee's
successor in title.

(A) The notice shall state the effective date of the termination, which
shall fall within the five-year period specified by clause (3) of this
subsection, and the notice shall be served not less than two or more
than ten years before that date. A copy of the notice shall be recorded
in the Copyright Office before the effective date of termination, as a
condition to its taking effect.

(B) The notice shall comply, in form, content, and manner of service,
with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by
regulation.

(5) Termination of the grant may be effected notwithstanding any
agreement to the contrary, including an agreement to make a will or to
make any future grant.

(b) Effect of Termination. Upon the effective date of termination, all
rights under this title that were covered by the terminated grants
revert to the author, authors, and other persons owning termination
interests under clauses (1) and (2) of subsection (a), including those
owners who did not join in signing the notice of termination under
clause (4) of subsection (a), but with the following limitations:

(1) A derivative work prepared under authority of the grant before its
termination may continue to be utilized under the terms of the grant
after its termination, but this privilege does not extend to the
preparation after the termination of other derivative works based upon
the copyrighted work covered by the terminated grant.

(2) The future rights that will revert upon termination of the grant
become vested on the date the notice of termination has been served as
provided by clause (4) of subsection (a). The rights vest in the author,
authors, and other persons named in, and in the proportionate shares
provided by, clauses (1) and (2) of subsection (a).

(3) Subject to the provisions of clause (4) of this subsection, a
further grant, or agreement to make a further grant, of any right
covered by a terminated grant is valid only if it is signed by the same
number and proportion of the owners, in whom the right has vested under
clause (2) of this subsection, as are required to terminate the grant
under clauses (1) and (2) of subsection (a). Such further grant or
agreement is effective with respect to all of the persons in whom the
right it covers has vested under clause (2) of this subsection,
including those who did not join in signing it. If any person dies after
rights under a terminated grant have vested in him or her, that person's
legal representatives, legatees, or heirs at law represent him or her
for purposes of this clause.

(4) A further grant, or agreement to make a further grant, of any right
covered by a terminated grant is valid only if it is made after the
effective date of the termination. As an exception, however, an
agreement for such a further grant may be made between the persons
provided by clause (3) of this subsection and the original grantee or
such grantee's successor in title, after the notice of termination has
been served as provided by clause (4) of subsection (a).

(5) Termination of a grant under this section affects only those rights
covered by the grants that arise under this title, and in no way affects
rights arising under any other Federal, State, or foreign laws.

(6) Unless and until termination is effected under this section, the
grant, if it does not provide otherwise, continues in effect for the
term of copyright provided by this title.

Section 204. Execution of transfers of copyright ownership-

(a) A transfer of copyright ownership, other than by operation of law,
is not valid unless an instrument of conveyance, or a note or memorandum
of the transfer, is in writing and signed by the owner of the rights
conveyed or such owner's duly authorized agent.

(b) A certificate of acknowledgment is not required for the validity of
a transfer, but is prima facie evidence of the execution of the transfer
if-

(1) in the case of a transfer executed in the United States, the
certificate is issued by a person authorized to administer oaths within
the United States; or

(2) in the case of a transfer executed in a foreign country, the
certificate is issued by a diplomatic or consular officer of the United
States, or by a person authorized to administer oaths whose authority is
proved by a certificate of such an officer.

Section 205. Recordation of transfers and other documents [4]

(a) Conditions for Recordation. Any transfer of copyright ownership or
other document pertaining to a copyright may be recorded in the
Copyright Office if the document filed for recordation bears the actual
signature of the person who executed it, or if it is accompanied by a
sworn or official certification that it is a true copy of the original,
signed document.

(b) Certificate of Recordation. The Register of Copyrights shall, upon
receipt of a document as provided by subsection (a) and of the fee
provided by section 708, record the document and return it with a
certificate of recordation.

(c) Recordation as Constructive Notice. Recordation of a document in the
Copyright Office gives all persons constructive notice of the facts
stated in the recorded document, but only if-

(1) the document, or material attached to it, specifically identifies
the work to which it pertains so that, after the document is indexed by
the Register of Copyrights, it would be revealed by a reasonable search
under the title or registration number of the work; and

(2) registration has been made for the work.

(d) Priority Between Conflicting Transfers. As between two conflicting
transfers, the one executed first prevails if it is recorded, in the
manner required to give constructive notice under subsection (c), within
one month after its execution in the United States or within two months
after its execution outside the United States, or at any time before
recordation in such manner of the later transfer. Otherwise the later
transfer prevails if recorded first in such manner, and if taken in good
faith, for valuable consideration or on the basis of a binding promise
to pay royalties, and without notice of the earlier transfer.

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