Ad: BlueJ Better Tax Answers. -Accomplish hours of research in seconds -Instantly draft high-quality communications -Verify answers using a library of trusted tax content. Learn more

Crawford & Gans: Estate & Gift Tax Treatment of Copyright Termination Rights

Bridget J. Crawford (Pace) & Mitchell Gans (Hofstra) have published Sticky Copyrights: Discriminatory Tax Restraints on the Transfer of Intellectual Property, 66 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 25 (2010).  Here is the abstract:

The focus of this article is the federal estate and gift tax treatment of copyright termination rights. The right of a creative individual to terminate prior copyright transfers serves to protect against economic exploitation. Once a copyright’s value has been established in the marketplace, the author (or the author’s heirs) enjoy a ‘second look’ at the gift, sale, license or other transfer of a copyright. But copyright termination rights — intended to enhance the economic well-being of authors and artists — undermine estate-planning strategies available to owners of other types of property. There is no policy justification for such discrimination, and so this article proposes legislative changes that would level the playing field for wealth transfer tax purposes.


About the Author

Ad: BlueJ Better Tax Answers. Blue J's generative AI tax research solution is transforming how tax experts work. Learn more.
Information and rates on advertising on TaxProf Blog

Discover more from TaxProf Blog

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading