A bill to amend the copyright law regarding work for hire.

Summary

Amends the copyright laws to require that a work-for-hire contract must be entered into prior to the commencement of the work which is the subject of the contract. Provides that the determination of an employer-employee relationship in a work-for-hire situation shall be based on the determination of withholding requirements of the Federal tax laws. Provides that each separate contribution to a collective work or compilation, any supplementary work, any instructional text, and any part of an audiovisual work, other than a motion picture, shall be treated as distinct from the larger or revised work as a whole and will be subject to the copyright law's provisions for limited rights transfer. Requires any transfer of rights with respect to these types of works to be in writing and contain the rights being acquired, the consideration paid for that right, and the signatures of both parties. Provides that the rights acquired under such an agreement which are not exercised within two years of the first publication shall become nonexclusive. Permits the author of a copyrighted work who transfers rights to the work to bring a court suit to terminate or reform the transfer agreement where the profits received by the transferree are disproportionate to the consideration paid to the author. Requires the author to prove that the terms of the transfer have proven to be unfair or grossly disadvantageous.

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1 official file

• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 18 November 1983

  Open at official source

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