Authors Alliance has submitted comments to the U.S. Copyright Office in support of its proposal to develop sample templates for notices of termination and/or an online notice builder.

In the United States, termination of transfer laws enable authors to regain rights in their works that might have been signed away—even if their contracts contain language to the contrary. While termination rights are immensely important for authors and the public, termination rules are complicated and formalistic, which contributes to the underutilization of this important tool. The statutory provisions governing timing of the notice and termination windows, together with the regulations governing the information required in notices of termination, are complex. Adhering to these requirements can be especially burdensome to creators who are not represented by agents or attorneys.

Given Authors Alliance’s efforts to address these challenges by providing resources and tools to help creators understand how to evaluate whether and when a work might be eligible for termination and how to exercise termination rights, it will come as no surprise that we wholeheartedly support the Office’s proposal to develop sample templates for notices of termination and/or an online notice builder.

Authors Alliance commends the Copyright Office for giving consideration to developing resources to help creators properly effectuate their termination rights. Our comment invites the Office to look to our tools as a model for these efforts, and to count on Authors Alliance to support these efforts based on our experience developing termination of transfer resources for creators. With proper tools and guidance, we believe more authors will be able to terminate rights and make their works newly available.

To read our full comment, click here.