A Complete Analysis on Copyright Assignment

Copyright is an exclusive right granted to the owner of the Copyright to sell, publish, protect, and record sound or artistic works. Copyright recognizes the creative expression of an intelligent mind. The main purpose of Copyright Registration is to grant legal protection to the creator with a chance to make monetary gains from their creations or innovations. Copyright Registration is governed and regulated by the Copyright Act, 1957. It also gives acknowledgement to the original creation and offers certain rights to the owner of the Copyright, depends on the type of work. Appreciation and earning reward from their creation motivate them to create more things and develop unique ideas that they convert into expressed form.

Also, the owner of a Copyright can also share their creative expression with others for common benefits, and the same can be achieved by a Copyright Assignment. In this blog, we discuss about the Copyright Assignment.

What is a Copyright Assignment?

It is a transfer of Copyright ownership to another person. In simple words, the owner of a Copyright in a present work or the future copyright owner in a further work may assign to any other person the registered Copyright either completely or partially. In this case, Copyright Assignment is for any upcoming work, and the assignment will take effort only when the work is in the form of expression and not just an idea.

No one has the right to publish, sell, copy or imitate any original work without taking permission from the original creator of the work. It simply means that only the copyright owner has the right to transfer the Copyright ownership to a third party. Another essential thing to note is that with the Copyright Assignment, the assignee will also enjoy all the rights related to the Copyright to the allocated work.

Section 18 of the Copyright Act states that where the Copyright assignee becomes qualified for any right involved in the Copyright, the assignee shall be treated as the Copyright owner with respect to those rights. The one who assigns will also be treated as the Copyright owner concerning the unassigned rights.  In case of the assignee demise, before the work comes into existence, the legal legislatures of the assignee will be entitled to the assignment benefits.

Also, Read: A Complete Guide on Copyright for Artistic Work in India

Mode of Copyright Assignment

There are some necessities that should be fulfilled in order to assign Copyright. According to Section 19 of the Copyright Act, no assignment is valid until and unless it is written and duly signed by the assignor or signed by his or her certified agent. The Copyright Assignment in any work shall identify such work and specified the rights assigned and the duration & territorial extent of such assignment. It also mentions the amount of royalty payable, if any, to the owner or their legal representative at the time of the continuity of the assignment and the assignment will be subject to revision, extension, or termination on situations agreed upon by the parties equally.

In case the assignee doesn’t use the Copyright rights assigned to him or her within one year from the assignment date, the assignment will lapse in respect of such rights after the expiry of the prescribed time unless mentioned otherwise in the assignment. In case the assignment time is not mentioned, it will be supposed to be five years from the assignment date. In the case of the regional extent of the assignment of rights is not stated, it shall be understood to extend within India.

Moreover, Section 19 (8) states that the Copyright Assignment of work against the terms & conditions upon which the rights have been assigned to the Copyright society^[1] in which the owner of original work is a member shall be negated. As per Section 19 (9) and 19 (10), the assignment for making a sound recording or any cinematography film will not affect the owner’s rights to claim for a mutual share of the royalties and thoughtfulness payable in relation to their safeguarded work use.

Copyright Assignment by Law Operation

It means that if the copyright owner expires, the Copyright will be passed on to his close or personal representative as a part of the estate if no will has been performed. Section 20 comprises an individual entitled to Copyright. The work has not been published in the year before the testator, and such individual will be considered as having Copyright in work unless an opposing intention is shown in testators will or any addition.

Following are some moral rights of an owner of the original work:

• The original work of a creator has the right to claim the work ownership;
• If there is any moderating with the work of a creator, then the original creator will have the right to claim harms. Moderating contains distortion, disfigurement of the original work;
• If the commission of assignee’s act, any damages are being caused to the goodwill of the creator, then they will have the right to claim harms. It is essential to remember that such an act must have done before the expiry of the assignment.

Moral rights are independent of the owner’s Copyright, and it will remain with the owner even he or she has assigned their Copyright to someone.

Conclusion

The main purpose of the process of assignment is to give financial and distribution gains to the original work. This assignment could prove to be a requirement in this globe as the assignment may lead to bringing out the best capability of the work by going through different people as they may ass some their originality or creativity to work. But, the practicality of the Copyright Assignment has been under the scanner sometimes due to the growth of Copyright Violation.

Also, Read: How to get Copyright Registration for Software in India?