From: John Cox <[log in to unmask]> Date: Fri, 27 Nov 2015 15:33:49 +0000 So what happens if and when the "exclusive license" terminates? The key in the wording used in 17 USC 101 is that the transfer may relate to "any of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright". The "transfer" needs to be recorded in writing. This does not mean that the entire copyright ownership becomes the property of the "exclusive licensee". What governs the transfer are the terms and conditions of the license. In the case of authors and publishers, an "exclusive license to publish" means that the publisher can exercise the rights of the author to publish his/her work, as defined in the Author Agreement. In certain circumstances (e.g. the publisher does not publish, or allow the work to go out of stock), the exclusive license terminates and those rights licensed to the publisher revert to the author as copyright owner. The laws of the USA, UK and other countries that are signatories to the Bern Convention are consistent in this. John Cox Rookwood, Bradden Towcester, Northants NN12 8ED United Kingdom Email: [log in to unmask] -----Original Message----- From: Laura Quilter <[log in to unmask]> Date: Wed, 25 Nov 2015 07:15:44 -0600 17 USC 101 (the definitions portion of the Copyright Act) defines transfer. An "exclusive license" is a transfer. So "retaining copyright" but "exclusively licensing" all of the rights of copyright is in fact a transfer of copyright. Also, it's still a transfer even with time or geographic limitations, if the license is exclusive. A “transfer of copyright ownership” is an assignment, mortgage, exclusive license, or any other conveyance, alienation, or hypothecation of a copyright or of any of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright, whether or not it is limited in time or place of effect, but not including a nonexclusive license. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/101 ---------------------------------- Laura Markstein Quilter / [log in to unmask] Attorney, Geek, Militant Librarian, Teacher Copyright and Information Policy Librarian University of Massachusetts, Amherst [log in to unmask] Lecturer, Simmons College, GSLIS [log in to unmask] > On Mon, Nov 23, 2015 at 10:17 PM, LIBLICENSE <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> >> From: Ann Shumelda Okerson <[log in to unmask]> >> Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2015 21:30:23 -0500 >> >> Maybe I misread the blog posting -- it seemed to me to say that one >> option for an author is to transfer partial copyright, rather than the >> full set of rights. >> >> We know that copyright can be divided, so one could theoretically >> transfer certain rights and retain the rest. This type of division of >> rights can be called a license, for sure -- but licenses can be >> identified for any given period of time. For an author's license to >> be a true "partial transfer of copyright," wouldn't it need to specify >> that it is for the entire duration of the applicable copyright period? >> >> Are authors' licenses to publishers generally written with this kind >> of specific language, in effect making them serve as a partial >> copyright transfer? >> >> In the case of Haworth below, a non-exclusive license can't possibly >> be a partial transfer of copyrights, can it? >> >> Or maybe I'm splitting hairs here. Or asking my question poorly. I >> suppose I'm saying that a partial copyright transfer and a license are >> not the same thing. >> >> Thoughts are welcomed. Ann >> >> >> >> On Mon, Nov 23, 2015 at 7:12 PM, LIBLICENSE <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> > From: "Blobaum, Paul" <[log in to unmask]> >> > Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2015 13:35:30 +0000 >> > >> > Sure, Look at the Journal of the Medical Library Association. This >> > was common with Haworth journals before Taylor and Francis bought it. >> > Authors retain copyright but give JMLA non exclusive license. >> > >> > Paul >> > >> > Paul Blobaum, M.A., M.S. >> > Follow my scholarship at: http://works.bepress.com/paul_blobaum >> > Full Professor >> > College of Health and Human Services Librarian Liaison >> > Scholarly Communications Librarian >> > Governors State University Library >> > University Park, IL 60484 708-534 4139 pblobaum at govst dot edu >> > ________________________________ >> > >> > From: Ann Shumelda Okerson <[log in to unmask] >> > Date: Sun, 22 Nov 2015 21:26:15 -0500 >> > >> > Here's an interesting blog posting -- does anyone know of any >> > scholarly journals in which authors transfer copyright partially to >> > their publishers? In principle it could be done, but do any journals >> > do this? >> > >> > http://knowledgeisotopes.com/blog/open-access-and-copyright-the-changing-landscape-in-scholarly-publication/