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Issues in Terminating Copyright Grants in Sound Recordings

BY Michael I. Rudell
January 30, 2012

The year 2013 may be a watershed in the music industry. It is the year that opens a new window in the Copyright Act through which many post-1977 grants of rights under copyright potentially could be terminated. The termination right applies to grants of rights in all types of copyrighted works, including books, plays, films, musical compositions and sound recordings. Termination of rights in sound recordings has attracted the music industry's attention because the Copyright Act does not specify whether grants of rights in sound recordings created by “independent contractors” are subject to termination. If those sound recordings are deemed “works for hire,” which lie outside the bounds of termination, then grants of rights in them cannot be terminated. A recent New York Times article referred to grants of rights in recordings by Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Loretta Lynn, Tom Waits, Bryan Adams, Kris Kristofferson and Charlie Daniels for which notices of termination apparently have been served.

Pre-1977, Post-1977 Recordings

As to whether sound recordings on albums qualify as works for hire, there are arguments on both sides. How the issue is resolved could make a big difference to music labels that still distribute those classic recordings or, on the other hand, to the artists who performed in them decades ago. This article looks at the salient issues concerning termination of rights in post-1977 sound recordings, beginning with a quick review of the termination statutes.

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