Copyright Recapture has arrived! The Copyright Act of 1976 provided for copyright owners who transferred their copyright interests on or after January 2, 1978 (the effective date of the law) to a third party, e.g. record company, publisher, movie studio, the right to terminate those transfers, or “recapture” their rights, 35 years after the initial transfer or grant. Copyright owners must give between two (2) and ten (10) years notice to the publishing house or recording company that they intend to recapture their rights on a particular date. How exactly all of this will pan out is uncertain, as the requisite 35-year waiting period was first triggered on January 1, 2013. One thing is for sure, however, copyright recapture is “changing the bargaining power for artists,” says our very own Attorney Keller.
Click Here for TheBurg Archives — select June 2012 Issue — scroll to Page 29
