ABSTRACT
Copyright and registered trade marks may be transferred by way of assignment. The assignment must be in writing and signed by the assignor before it is effective in law.10 Assignments need not be a once and for all transfer. They can operate to transfer the right for a limited period or for limited territories. It is possible to assign copyright for, say, 10 years, and at the end of that period the copyright will revert back to the original owner. An assignment may only transfer some of the rights which constitute copyright – for example, if a copyright owner assigns the broadcast rights in a musical work, it will retain the other rights which make up copyright.
