A JURIDICAL STUDY OF COPYRIGHT TRANSFER STATEMENTS IN JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS

Abstract

The publication of a scientific article is an obligation for members of the academic community within higher education institutions. On the other hand, a scientific article represents the intellectual output of its author, who, in this context, cannot independently publish it in a scientific journal. Therefore, authors transfer their copyright to the journal publisher as a means of relinquishing certain exclusive rights, specifically related to publication, reproduction, and distribution. These three elements constitute the economic rights of the author, which they exclusively possess as the creator. According to Article 16, Paragraph (1) of Law Number 28 of 2014 on copyright, copyright is recognized as an intangible movable property, which implies that it can be partially or wholly transferred to third parties. Typically, the transfer of copyright pertains to the economic rights of the author (i.e., publication, reproduction, and distribution), rather than the moral rights of the author. Copyright law stipulates that such transfers should be executed through written agreements. In practice, copyright transfers are often accomplished through a statement of copyright transfer by the author to the journal publisher, who becomes the copyright holder. However, Article 16, Paragraph (2) of Law Number 28 of 2014 on copyright does not specify that copyright can be transferred using a statement of copyright transfer. The use of a statement of transfer can be observed in the context of a copyright transfer form, which typically carries the title "Copyright Transfer Agreement." This article aims to examine the legal aspects of such agreements from the perspective of contract law and the norms governing copyright transfers as defined by the law. If the term "written agreement" in the law does not encompass a statement of copyright transfer, this article suggests that authors and journal publishers consider using the term "Copyright Transfer Agreement" rather than "Statement of Copyright Transfer" when drafting these documents.

Keywords

• juridical study
• copyright transfer
• statement
• journal
• publication