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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 201. Ownership of copyright
(a) Initial Ownership. - Copyright in a work protected under this
title vests initially in the author or authors of the work. The
authors of a joint work are coowners of copyright in the work.
(b) Works Made for Hire. - In the case of a work made for hire,
the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared is
considered the author for purposes of this title, and, unless the
parties have expressly agreed otherwise in a written instrument
signed by them, owns all of the rights comprised in the copyright.
(c) Contributions to Collective Works. - Copyright in each
separate contribution to a collective work is distinct from
copyright in the collective work as a whole, and vests initially in
the author of the contribution. In the absence of an express
transfer of the copyright or of any rights under it, the owner of
copyright in the collective work is presumed to have acquired only
the privilege of reproducing and distributing the contribution as
part of that particular collective work, any revision of that
collective work, and any later collective work in the same series.
(d) Transfer of Ownership. -
(1) The ownership of a copyright may be transferred in whole or
in part by any means of conveyance or by operation of law, and
may be bequeathed by will or pass as personal property by the
applicable laws of intestate succession.
(2) Any of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright,
including any subdivision of any of the rights specified by
section 106, may be transferred as provided by clause (1) and
owned separately. The owner of any particular exclusive right is
entitled, to the extent of that right, to all of the protection
and remedies accorded to the copyright owner by this title.
(e) Involuntary Transfer. - When an individual author's ownership
of a copyright, or of any of the exclusive rights under a
copyright, has not previously been transferred voluntarily by that
individual author, no action by any governmental body or other
official or organization purporting to seize, expropriate,
transfer, or exercise rights of ownership with respect to the
copyright, or any of the exclusive rights under a copyright, shall
be given effect under this title, except as provided under title
11.
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