Approaching or overtaking: transferring copyright in Germany and in the UK

Abstract:

"Legal context British and German law provide diametrically opposed answers to the question of the transferability and thus the marketability of copyright property assets.

Key points Under the current legal situation in Germany, the non-transferability dogma of copyrights is maintained. The law thus continues to follow the monistic theory. However, in recent years it has been observed in German legal literature that this dogma has been eroded. In fact, there are examples showing that the copyright can be legally transferred.

Practical significance This development is interesting because German copyright goes one step further than the situation in the UK. Whereas moral rights cannot be transferred under British copyright law, and a waiver is possible at best, in Germany moral rights can factually be transferred under both the law of succession and employment law."