Copyright Assignment Agreement

What is a copyright transfer agreement?

A copyright transfer agreement is a legally binding contract by virtue of which a copyright’s owner transfers all or certain rights in the copyrighted work to another party.

The purpose of a copyright transfer agreement is to change the owner of exclusive rights over certain protected work. The typical document template shall include the following copyright assignment clauses:

• details of the parties involved (full name, address, and contact details);
• detailed description of the copyright;
• list of representations and warranties;
• payment consideration (if applicable);
• recordation process and costs involved (if applicable); and
• other general provisions (e.g., governing law, indemnity, etc.).

A copyright transfer agreement is used to transfer title and interest for pictures, recordings, books, novels, theater performances, computer games, software code, designs, etc.

The parties involved in a copyright transfer form are the assignor and assignee.

The assignor is the original owner of the copyright. The owner of a copyright could be an author or another third party that holds all rights in the copyright. When referring to “all rights” in the copyright, it means the right to reproduce, adapt, distribute, perform, display, or in any other way materially use the copyright. Owners or assignors of a copyright could be both legal entities and individuals.

The assignee is a recipient of the rights, who becomes the new owner of the rights and interest in the copyright.

How to write a copyright transfer agreement?

Drafting a copyright transfer agreement template is a challenging task considering the complex nature of intellectual property rights in general. The text of the final contract template should be clear and precise enough to be able to properly reflect the parties’ arrangement. Below we made the list of all essential copyright assignment clauses you have to include:

Description of the copyright

The text of a copyright transfer agreement template shall reflect:

• the work’s title;
• type of work (e.g., novel, book, image, song);
• approximate date of creation;
• publication date; and
• registration number and date (if registered).

Scope of transferred rights

A good copyright transfer agreement sample shall define the exact scope of rights one party transfers to another. If the assignor is willing to transfer all rights, in that case the text of a final document shall state “to transfer all rights, interest, and title.”

If, however, a transfer of only certain rights takes place, in that case the copyright transfer agreement sample shall define exact rights—e.g., distribution, public display, reproduction, etc. The rights that are not explicitly stated in the text of a contract are not considered to be transferred from the assignor.

The territorial scope may also be included in the text of a copyright transfer contract. It means that the assignor may transfer all or part of the copyright rights they have only within a specific territory, for instance, within the United States. In that case, application or usage of the copyright somewhere outside the United States by the assignee would be a direct violation of the contract.

Consideration

A solid copyright assignment agreement shall also reflect the amount of the compensation an assignee has to pay. Apart from that, the parties should also agree on the following:

• list of acceptable payment methods (e.g., cash, crypto, bank transfer); and
• timing for payment (e.g., on the date of signing, within a certain period of time after the recordation, etc.).

Neither federal nor state laws oblige an assignor to make a transfer of the copyright in exchange for remuneration. Therefore, it is also possible to make a free transfer of rights.

Recordation with the Copyright Office

Under the US federal law there is no mandatory requirement for the recordation of the copyright. The law guarantees legal protection to the copyright’s owners from the moment of the copyright’s creation.

However, most owners and authors tend to make the recordation, as it gives an extra layer of legal protection. On top of that, it makes it easier to bring infringement disputes against the third parties in a court.

The parties to a copyright transfer agreement shall agree on the following:

• Do they want to undergo the recordation process?
• Who shall be responsible for filing all the necessary paperwork to the Copyright Office?
• Who shall bear all administrative costs related to the recordation?

How to customize an agreement at Faster Draft?

In order to get a personalized legal template, follow a few easy steps below:

1. Click the button “Create Document.”
2. Answer simple questions in a copyright transfer form.
3. Select a document’s format—copyright assignment agreement PDF or Word.
4. Make a payment.
5. Download, print, sign, and easily use your customized legal document template in a few seconds.