# Copyright assignment

URL: https://sellmydatatoai.net/glossary/copyright-assignment

A copyright assignment is a signed transfer of ownership of a copyright, or of some exclusive rights in it, from one party to another.

A copyright assignment is a transfer of ownership of a copyright from its owner to someone else. Under [17 USC 204(a)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/204) a transfer of ownership is valid only in a writing signed by the owner of the rights conveyed or the owner's authorized agent.

An assignment differs from a license. A nonexclusive [data license](https://sellmydatatoai.net/glossary/data-license) gives permission to use a work while the owner keeps it. An [exclusive license](https://sellmydatatoai.net/glossary/exclusive-license) counts as a transfer of ownership under [17 USC 101](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/101) and needs the same signed writing.

## Can an assignment be undone?

An assignment by an individual author can be terminated under [17 USC 203](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/203), generally during a five-year window that opens 35 years after the grant was signed, for grants made on or after January 1, 1978. Works made for hire are excluded from termination.

## Why do AI data buyers ask for assignments?

AI data buyers ask for assignments because the seller can license only what it owns. A buyer will want to see signed assignments from staff and contractors who wrote the code or content, as part of [chain of title](https://sellmydatatoai.net/glossary/chain-of-title).

In the UK, [section 90(3) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/section/90) likewise requires an assignment to be in writing signed by or on behalf of the assignor.