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book in 1920. The author died in 1950.'^ The work was renewed in 1948. Under the current regime, the copyright lasts for 75 years, expiring in 1995. Under a life plus 50 regime, the copyright would expire in 2000; under life plus 70 in 2020.
The original contract between the author and publisher for the 56 year tei-m granted in the 1909 act, as well as the 19 years added in the 1976 act, would be honored in the proposal, meaning that the publisher would receive the full benefit of its contract for 75 years — until 1995. In 1996, the copyright would vest automatically in the author's heirs for the duration of the copyright — 202 0 under the life plus 70 year regime. The author's heirs would thus be free to negotiate a contract for the remaining 25 years on the copyright.
This approach would give to purchasers of copyright the full benefit of what they had bargained for with the author, plus the windfall they received in 1976. At the same time, it would place U.S. law in harmony with the rest of the world and would give to the author or the author's heirs the benefit of any extension of term consistent with Congress's power to grant copyright to benefit authors.
Mills Music V. Snvder
The 19 year termination right for old act works granted in Section 304 of the 1976 Act contained an exception for derivative works created under a grant from the author or transferee before termination. This exception permitted, for example, a record company that had licensed from a music publisher (which had itself been licensed by the composer) the right to make a record of a musical composition to continue to sell the. records after termination, provided, of course, it continued to pay the previously agreed to royalties. These derivative royalties were, however, to go 100% to the author after termination. In Mills Music V. Snvder. ^^ the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 opinion held that the author does not get 100% of the royalties but has to share them with the music publisher according to the terms of the original
^^ Because in a number of cases, a 75 year term provides a longer term than life plus 50 regime — in the hypo given in the text if the author died before 1945 — there will need to be a transitional section continuing copyrights presently protected by virtue of existing 75 year term, otherwise the result would be to place into the public domain works that are currently protected. An alternative to a transitional section would be to provide an "either/or" way of measuring term as in current section 303. Under such an alternative, the author or the author's heirs would receive the longest term possible — either under a life plus 70 or under the current law.
'2 469 U.S. 153 (1985) .