Article On Copyright’s Statutory Successors To The Termination Interest

Katie Joseph (J.D. Candidate, 2015, University of Nebraska College of Law) recently published an article entitled, Copyright’s unconsidered assumption: statutory successors to the termination interest (and the unintended consequences for estate planners), 94 Neb. L. Rev. 441-476 (2015). Provided below is an excerpt from the article:

The termination provision of the Copyright Act was intended give authors a chance to renegotiate unremunerative transfers. Though Congress’s intent may have been to benefit authors, at least two observers have recognized that the termination provision makes it “difficult, if not impossible, for authors to engage in effective estate planning.” The concept of recapture of copyright by authors has been hotly debated at least twice, but there has been no critical examination of Congress’s choice to pass the termination interest through a statutory class of successors rather than deferring to the author’s will. In the proceedings leading up to the 1909 and 1976 Acts, Congress dealt with a host of new technological developments, wrestled with the constitutional implications of an extended term, and listened to heated debates between authors and publishers. Once agreement was reached on renewal and termination, the debate moved on to other pressing matters and the statutory class of successors remained unexamined. This Note briefly examines the termination interest, outlines the legislative history involving the statutory class of heirs, proposes a modest revision that would give authors and publishers greater certainty, and provides some suggestions for planners dealing with the existing termination provision.