A copyright release agreement reassigns reproduction rights.
A copyright release agreement transfers all or limited reproduction rights of copyrighted material from one party to another. Copyright release agreements can apply to many types of material, including manuscripts, photographs, artwork, songs, computer software or architectural designs.
Copyright Assignment
Creators of intellectual property typically own the copyright, but other parties can also hold ownership. For example, if a software developer creates a new program for his company, the company can control the copyright if a prior assignment agreement exists between the employee and the company.
Copyright Reassignment
A copyright release agreement becomes necessary when one party wants to reassign reproduction rights of intellectual property to another party. If an independent author signs a publishing contract with a magazine, a copyright release agreement transfers the author's reproduction rights so the magazine to print the author's work.
Copyright Release Limitations
The release can include limitations on how the intellectual property is reproduced and for how long. For example, if a photographer sells a photograph to a book company, the release define the number of books in which the photograph can appear, geographic areas in which the company can distribute the book (such as North America) and the length of time the copyright is reassigned to the company (such as one year).
Tags: copyright release, copyright release agreement, release agreement, reproduction rights, intellectual property, agreement transfers