Editing Work for hire (section)

=== Termination of copyright transfers ===

An author has the inalienable right to terminate a copyright transfer 35 years after agreeing to permanently relinquish the copyright.<ref name="Termination Rights">{{cite web|url=http://www.copyright.gov/docs/203.html|title=U.S. Copyright Office - Termination of Transfers and Licenses Under 17 U.S.C. 203|first=U.S. Copyright Office|last=(www.copyright.gov)|website=www.copyright.gov}}</ref> However, according to the US Copyright Office, Circular 9 "the termination provisions of the law do not apply to works made for hire."<ref name="circ30"/> These restrictions, in both the work for hire doctrine and the right of termination, exist out of recognition that artists frequently face unequal bargaining power in their business dealings. Nonetheless, failure to secure a work-for-hire agreement by commissioning organizations can create difficult situations. One such example is the artist [[Raymond Kaskey]]'s 1985 statue ''[[Portlandia (statue)|Portlandia]]'', an iconic symbol of the city of Portland, Oregon. Unlike most works of public art, Kaskey has put strong prohibitions on the use of images of the statue, located atop the main entrance to the famous [[Portland Building]]. He sued [[Paramount Pictures]] for including shots of the statue in the [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] motion picture ''[[Body of Evidence (1993 film)|Body of Evidence]]''. As a result, it is nearly impossible to film portions of one of downtown Portland's most vibrant neighborhoods, and the city has lost out on the potential to create merchandise and souvenirs from one of its most iconic landmarks.<ref>{{cite news
|last=Bancud |first=Michaela
|title=Your best shot at a perfectly sculpted figure
|url=http://portlandtribune.com/component/content/article?id=119564|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427180804/http://portlandtribune.com/component/content/article?id=119564|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 27, 2016 <!--http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=18358-->
|newspaper=[[Portland Tribune]]
|date=May 27, 2003
|access-date=2014-09-12
}}</ref>

An author can grant his or her copyright (if any) to the hiring party. However, if not a work made for hire, the author or the author's heirs may exercise their right to terminate the grant. Termination of a grant cannot be effective until 35 years after the execution of the grant or, if the grant covers the right of publication, no earlier than 40 years after the execution of the grant or 35 years after publication under the grant (whichever comes first).<ref name="Termination Rights"/>