Artists Begin Exercising Termination Rights Under the Copyright Act
In 1976, Congress enacted legislation permitting artists and other creators to recapture copyrights assigned to others after 35 years. The legislation went into effect on January 1, 1978. This year marks the first year that artists can exercise their termination rights to regain control and ownership of works created on or after January 1, 1978. For works created after January 1, 1978, the Copyright Act provides for a single term of copyright protection lasting for the life of the author plus 70 years. The Act also provides authors with a nonalienable right to terminate the grant of a copyright 35 years after the grant was executed. Notably, works for hire are excluded from this provision. Termination must be effected within 5 years from the 35th year on which the grant was executed. In other words, the termination must be effected in years 35 to 40 after assignment. The terminating author must serve the grantee with a notice of termination no less than 2 years and no more than 10 years before the effective date of termination. Once terminated, all copyright interests conveyed under the terminated grant revert back to the original creator.
The New York Times recently reported the story of Victor Willis, a member of the disco group, the Village People. Mr. Willis provided a notice of termination to the grantee of multiple songs he co-created in the 1970s. The grantee challenged his notice in court.
After years of litigation, Willis has finally obtained the rights to his songs. Whether other artists from the 1970s and 80s will soon follow remains to be seen.
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