It’s not over once you sign

McAndrews, Held& Malloy’s Amber J Carpenter and Malaika Tyson examine strategies forterminating a previously granted copyright in the US

Amber JCarpenter and Malaika Tyson - McAndrews, Held & Malloy

In the past, in order to get their works published, authorswere contractually obligated to transfer or assign their copyrights to theirpublishing houses, losing the ability to license their works to other thirdparties. Due to these assignments and transfers, publishers often have astockpile of hundreds to thousands of titles in their portfolios. Because ofchanging times or economic concerns, many of these works are no longer inprint, accumulating dust. However, it is not over once an author signs awaytheir rights, due to a little-known doctrine within the US Copyright Act.