The author of an original work is exclusively entitled to the copyright, by the mere fact of having created it, but can he transfer it to other people or organizations?

The transfer of copyright

In order to understand what the transfer of copyright consists of, we must distinguish between two types of rights: exploitation rights, which include reproduction, distribution, public communication and transformation; and moral rights, which correspond solely to the author and allow him, among other things, to decide whether his work is disclosed anonymously, with his name or under a pseudonym… The latter cannot be transferred, but the former can.

A holder can freely transfer the exploitation rights of his work to a natural or legal person so that they can exploit it for a certain period of time. To do so, it is advisable for both parties to sign an assignment contract, which will identify the work on which certain intellectual property rights are being assigned and under what conditions, that is, for how long, in what territorial area and how said exploitation will be carried out.

It is also advisable for the assignment contract to specify whether it is done free of charge or in exchange for financial compensation and whether this is agreed to be exclusive or not.

For how long do you assign your exploitation rights?

This authorization may be: a) temporary and, once the terms of the contract have ended, the assignee must cease the use for which he was authorized; b) permanent, that is, for life.

Ultimately, the duration of the assignment will be that stipulated in the contract signed by both parties.