Law Commons^™

Copyright Ownership Of Joint Works And Terminations Of Transfers, Harold See

Law Faculty Scholarship

Under the terms of section 24 of the Copyright Act of 1909, the death of Oscar Hammerstein in 1960 resulted in the "partnership" of Richard Rogers and (Mrs.) Oscar Hammerstein (and James and William Hammerstein, and Alice Hammerstein Mathias, his children-the latter two by a previous marriage), in the ownership of such works as Oklahoma, Carousel, and South Pacific. Oscar Hammerstein may have wanted it that way, but want it or not, he was powerless under the Copyright Act to change the arrangement. Numerous works are the product of the combined efforts of more than one author. Such joint authorship …