Problems in the Transfer of Interest in a Copyright
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Description
With the development of methods of mass communication and media of dramatic representation, the term "copyright" has become a shorthand expression for the "bundle of rights" to the various transformation and derivative works which comprise a given work of art. Although ill-equipped to deal with some of the modem forms of reproduction and representation, the present Copyright Act does recognize the existence of a wide variety of these rights. Unfortunately, doctrines which had their inception at a time when "copyright" signified the unitary right of first publication at common law and a monopoly to reproduce copies under statute, retain sufficient vitality to impair expeditious transformation of literary property into other forms of expression. In addition, there has been a failure to provide a statutory framework for the transfer of copyrights which satisfactorily balances the need for mobility against the need for safeguarding those dealing with the copyright. This paper will appraise the extent to which the present statutory transfer system has kept pace with the proliferation of marketable elements in a copyrighted work and has delineated the rights and duties of the transacting parties and provided the purchaser with a method for assuring that he has acquired a valid title.
Source Publication
Copyright Law Symposium: Number Ten
Source Editors/Authors
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
Publication Date
1959
Recommended Citation
Miller, Arthur R., "Problems in the Transfer of Interest in a Copyright" (1959). Faculty Chapters. 1090.
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-chapt/1090
