United States Second Circuit

An agreement made subsequent to a work's creation which retroactively deems it a "work for hire" constitutes an "agreement to the contrary" under section 304(c)(5) of the Copyright Act of 1976, which grants authors or their heirs an inalienable right to terminate a grant in a copyright fifty-six years after the original grant "notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary."

Appellate Information

• Argued 06/03/2002
• Decided 11/07/2002
• Published 11/07/2002

Judges

• McLAUGHLIN, Circuit Judge., Before: KEARSE and McLAUGHLIN, Circuit Judges, and HAIGHT, District Judge.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Kay Murray, The Authors Guild, Inc., New York, NY, for Amici Curiae The Authors Guild, Inc.;  The American Society of Journalists and Authors;  The American Society of Media Photographers, Inc.;  The Graphic Artists Guild;  and The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.


• For Appellees:
  
• Ethan Horwitz,Goodwin Procter LLP, New York, NY (Kandis M. Kahn, on the brief), Ross J. Charap, Moses & Singer LLP, New York, NY, on the brief, Darby & Darby PC, New York, NY, on the brief, for Defendant-Counter-Claimant-Appellant., David Fleischer, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, New York, NY (Jodi A. Kleinick, on the brief), for Plaintiff-Counter-Defendant-Appellee.