You Signed Away Your Songs — You May Be Able to Get Them Back Worldwide

Many independent artists signed publishing or recording deals early in their careers, transferring ownership of their songs for modest compensation. Under U.S. copyright law, those transfers are not necessarily permanent. Federal law gives authors a statutory right to reclaim their copyrights decades after signing them away — and a January 2026 appeals court ruling has dramatically expanded the reach of that right.

In Vetter v. Resnik, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that when a songwriter properly terminates a copyright transfer, the recapture extends to global rights, not just U.S. territory. This is the first federal appellate decision to reach that conclusion, and it has significant implications for any artist who has ever assigned their catalog to a publisher, label, or other rights holder.

What Is Copyright Termination?

Copyright termination is a provision in U.S. law — found in Sections 203 and 304(c) of the Copyright Act — that allows authors to reclaim rights they previously transferred. The law was designed to address the common scenario where an artist signs away valuable rights early in their career, before the work’s commercial potential is understood.

The right cannot be waived. No contract clause, no matter how broadly drafted, can strip an author of termination rights. Congress made this provision mandatory precisely because of the power imbalance between creators and publishers.

There are two main provisions:

• Section 203 covers grants executed by the author on or after January 1, 1978. Termination can take effect during a five-year window beginning 35 years after the grant was executed.
• Section 304(c) covers grants executed before January 1, 1978, for works whose copyright was secured before that date. Termination can take effect during a five-year window beginning 56 years after copyright was originally secured.

For works made for hire, termination rights do not apply. The author must have personally executed the grant.

What the Vetter v. Resnik Ruling Changed

Before January 2026, the music industry operated on the assumption that copyright termination only recaptured U.S. rights. Publishers and labels routinely retained ownership of foreign territories even after a songwriter successfully terminated a domestic transfer. This gave publishers continued control over international licensing, streaming revenue, and sync placements outside the United States.

The Vetter v. Resnik case challenged that assumption directly. Cyril Vetter, a Baton Rouge songwriter, transferred his copyright interest in the 1963 rock song “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love)” to Windsong Music Publishers for one dollar. Decades later, Vetter exercised his termination rights under Section 304(c).

The publisher, Resnik Music Group, argued that even if the U.S. termination was valid, they retained rights in every other country. The Fifth Circuit rejected that argument, holding that Congress intended termination to return authors to the position they held before the transfer — which means all rights, worldwide.

The court wrote that applying termination only to domestic copyrights would deprive artists of the “full set of rights” they had sold, undermining the statute’s purpose of correcting “unequal bargaining power.”

What This Means for Independent Artists

If you or your co-writers assigned copyrights to a publisher or label, you may be eligible to reclaim those rights — and now, potentially all of them globally. Here is what matters:

Works assigned after January 1, 1978. If you executed a grant in 1990, for example, the 35-year termination window opened in 2025. You can serve a termination notice now, with an effective date falling within the five-year window.

Works assigned before January 1, 1978. The 56-year window under Section 304(c) applies. Works assigned in the late 1960s are currently eligible.

Timing is strict. A termination notice must be served no fewer than 2 years and no more than 10 years before the intended effective date. The effective date itself must fall within the statutory five-year window. Missing these deadlines can forfeit the right entirely.

Works made for hire are excluded. If your agreement classified the work as “made for hire,” termination rights do not apply. However, the classification itself may be challengeable if the work does not meet the legal definition.

The ruling is not yet final law everywhere. The Fifth Circuit’s decision applies in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Other circuits have not ruled on the same question, and the case is likely headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Major industry groups — including the RIAA and NMPA — have filed amicus briefs urging the Supreme Court to review and reverse the decision. Until the Supreme Court resolves the split, there is some legal uncertainty about whether termination recovers global rights in all jurisdictions.

How to Evaluate Your Catalog for Termination

Artists who want to explore termination should take these steps:

Checklist for Copyright Termination

• Identify all grants you personally executed. Review publishing agreements, recording contracts, and licensing deals. Only grants signed by the author (not by an employer or corporate entity on your behalf) qualify.
• Determine the execution date. The 35-year clock starts from the date the grant was executed, not the date the work was created or published.
• Calculate the termination window. For post-1978 grants, the five-year window opens 35 years after execution. For pre-1978 grants, the window opens 56 years after copyright was secured.
• Serve notice within the required timeframe. The notice must be served between 2 and 10 years before the effective date, and must be recorded with the U.S. Copyright Office before the effective date.
• Consult an entertainment attorney. The procedural requirements are strict. Errors in the notice — wrong dates, incorrect identification of the grant, improper service — can invalidate the termination.

The Industry Response

The major labels and publishers have pushed back aggressively. In the Vetter case, the RIAA and NMPA filed a joint brief warning that the ruling would “unsettle the bedrock understanding of foreign exploitation rights” and disrupt “a half-century of settled industry norms.” Five additional amicus briefs were filed in July 2026 in support of the labels’ petition for Supreme Court review, including briefs from Paramount, the Motion Picture Association, and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

The Supreme Court has not yet decided whether to hear the case. If it does, the outcome will determine whether global termination rights become settled law or remain limited to the Fifth Circuit.

Common Misconception

“My contract says I can never get my rights back.”

This is one of the most widespread misunderstandings in music law. Copyright termination rights are statutory — they come from federal law, not from your contract. No contractual language can waive or limit them. Even if your agreement contains a clause stating that the transfer is “irrevocable” or “in perpetuity,” you still have the right to terminate within the statutory window. The U.S. Copyright Office explicitly states that “the right to take this action cannot be waived in advance or contracted away.” If a publisher tells you otherwise, that claim does not reflect the law.

When to Ask a Lawyer

Consult an entertainment attorney if:

• You are unsure whether your agreement qualifies as a personal grant or a work made for hire
• Your termination window is approaching and you need to calculate exact deadlines
• You co-wrote a work with multiple authors and need to coordinate termination rights
• Your publisher is disputing your termination or claiming foreign rights survive
• You want to negotiate a new deal after recapture rather than self-publish
• You are an heir of a deceased author and need to understand your termination interest

Sources

1. U.S. Copyright Office — Termination of Transfers Under 17 U.S.C. § 203
2. Billboard — Appeals Court Says Musicians Can Win Back Their Copyrights Globally
3. 17 U.S.C. § 203 — Termination of transfers and licenses granted by the author
4. Copyright Alliance — Top Noteworthy Copyright Stories from July 2026
5. Unchained Music — Federal Appeals Court Rules Songwriters Can Reclaim Copyrights Worldwide