The musician had in the 1940s assigned his copyright to the respondent. At that time a reversion in copyright could only be assigned by will. In 1973, after the 1956 Act he assigned the reversion to the respondent also. The appellant now contended that the transitional provisions of the 1956 Act mean that the second assignment was invalid.
Held: The situation is now governed by the 1988 Act, which preserved the validity of existing assignments. The 1973 assignment fell to be considered under the 1956 Act, section 36(1) of which gave an unrestricted right of assignment. The transitional provisions of the schedules to the 1956 Act did not limit that right, and the 1973 assignment was valid.
Judges:
Chadwick LJ, Jacob LJ, Lloyd J
Citations:
Times 10-Jan-2005
Statutes:
Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, Copyright Act 1956 36(1)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Appeal from – Novello and Company Limited v Keith Prowse Music Publishing Company Limited ChD 7-Apr-2004
The author had executed an assignment of the reversionary copyright interests in his musical works. The parties sought a declaration as to whether such an assignment was capable of being effective in law.
Held: The agreement was effective. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Intellectual Property
Updated: 09 May 2022; Ref: scu.222535
