Copyright Ownership

If you own a copyright, you will be entitled to the bundle of rights granted by copyright law. Therefore, it is important to understand how ownership is defined and how you can use your rights.

A few general propositions about ownership:

• The author is the initial owner of the work.

• Ownership can be assigned or transferred.

• Works can be created for hire. In such instances, the work belongs to the hiring party.

• If more than one person created a work, they might be joint owners of the work.