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Ownership and Length of Ownership
Subject to certain exceptions, the author of a work is generally presumed to be the first owner of the copyright. Where the work is an engraving, photograph or portrait and the original was ordered and paid for by some other person, then that other person will usually be presumed to be the owner of the copyright. Where the author made the work in the course of employment under a contract of service, the author's employer will usually be presumed to be the owner of the copyright.
Subject to a variety of limitations, ownership of copyright may be assigned to another person either in whole or in part. However, the assignment, to be valid, must be in writing. Even after assignment of copyright, the author can still claim authorship, and has the right to restrain modification of the work in certain circumstances, and prevent the work from being used to endorse commercial products, unless the author has waived such rights.
Copyright is personal property and passes to the estate of the author on death, provided that the author was the owner of copyright on death.
In most cases, copyright in a work subsists for the lifetime of the author plus a period of 50 years after the author's death. Where works are the product of joint authorship, the 50-year period runs from the death of the author who dies last. For records, tapes, photographs and similar manufactured devices embodying a copyright work, copyright exists for 50 years from the making of the original plate or negative.
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