California Civil Code. California
Division 3 of the Commercial Code but which is not payable to order or to bearer and a sale of accounts, chattel paper, payment intangibles, or promissory notes as part of a sale of the business out of which they arose (paragraph (4) of subdivision (d) of Section 9109 of the Commercial Code) shall be deemed perfected against third persons when such property rights have been endorsed or assigned in writing and in the case of such instruments or chattel paper delivered to the transferee, whether or not notice of such transfer or sale has been given to the obligor; but such endorsement, assignment, or delivery is not, of itself, notice to the obligor so as to invalidate any payments made by the obligor to the transferor.
(Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 991, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2000. Operative July 1, 2001, by Sec. 75 of Ch. 991.)
955.1. (a) Except as provided in Sections 954.5 and 955 and subject to subdivisions (b) and (c), a transfer other than one intended to create a security interest pursuant to paragraph (1) or (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 9109 of the Commercial Code, of any payment intangible, as defined in Section 9102 of the Commercial Code, and any transfer of accounts, chattel paper, payment intangibles, or promissory notes excluded from the coverage of Division 9 of the Commercial Code by paragraph (4) of subdivision (d) of Section 9109 of the Commercial Code shall be deemed perfected as against third persons upon there being executed and delivered to the transferee an assignment thereof in writing.
(b) As between bona fide assignees of the same right for value without notice, the assignee first giving notice of the right to the obligor in writing has priority.
(c) The assignment is not, of itself, notice to the obligor so as to invalidate any payments made by the obligor to the transferor.
(d) This section does not apply to transfers or assignments of water supply property, as defined in Section 849 of the Public Utilities Code.
(e) This section does not apply to transfers or assignments of recovery property, as defined in Section 848 of the Public Utilities Code.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 482, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2015.)
CHAPTER 3. Products of the Mind [980 — 989]
(Chapter 3 enacted 1872.)
980. (a) (1) The author of any original work of authorship that is not fixed in any tangible medium of expression has an exclusive ownership in the representation or expression thereof as against all persons except one who orginally and independently creates the same or similar work. A work shall be considered not fixed when it is not embodied in a tangible medium of expression or when its embodiment in a tangible medium of expression is not sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of more than transitory duration, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.
(2) The author of an original work of authorship consisting of a sound recording initially fixed prior to February 15, 1972, has an exclusive ownership therein until February 15, 2047, as against all persons except one who independently makes or duplicates another sound recording that does not directly or indirectly recapture the actual sounds fixed in such prior sound recording, but consists entirely of an independent fixation of other sounds, even though such sounds imitate or simulate the sounds contained in the prior sound recording.
(b) The inventor or proprietor of any invention or design, with or without delineation, or other graphical representation, has an exclusive ownership therein, and in the representation or expression thereof, which continues so long as the invention or design and the representations or expressions thereof made by him remain in his possession.
(Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 574, Sec. 2.)
981. (a) Unless otherwise agreed, an original work of authorship not fixed in any tangible medium of expression and in the creation of which several persons are jointly concerned, is owned by them in equal proportion.
(b) Unless otherwise agreed, an invention or design in the production of which several persons are jointly concerned is owned by them as follows:
(1) If the invention or design is single, in equal proportions.
(2) If it is not single, in proportion to the contribution of each.
(Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 574, Sec. 3.)
982. (a) The owner of any rights in any original works of authorship not fixed in any tangible medium of expression may transfer the ownership therein.
(b) The owner of any invention or design, or of any representation or expression thereof, may transfer his or her proprietary interest in it.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, whenever a work of fine art is transferred, whether by sale or on commission or otherwise, by or on behalf of the artist who created it, or that artist’s heir, legatee, or personal representative, the right of reproduction thereof is reserved to such artist or such heir, legatee, or personal representative until it passes into the public domain by act or operation of law, unless that right is expressly transferred by a document in writing in which reference is made to the specific right of reproduction, signed by the owner of the rights conveyed or that person’s duly authorized agent. If the transfer is pursuant to an employment relationship, the right of reproduction is transferred to the employer, unless it is expressly reserved in writing. If the transfer is pursuant to a legacy or inheritance, the right of reproduction is transferred to the legatee or heir, unless it is expressly reserved by will or codicil. Nothing contained herein, however, shall be construed to prohibit the fair use of such work of fine art.
(d) As used in subdivision (c):
(1) “Fine art” means any work of visual art, including but not limited to, a drawing, painting, sculpture, mosaic, or photograph, a work of calligraphy, work of graphic art (including an etching, lithograph, offset print, silk screen, or a work of graphic art of like nature), crafts (including crafts in clay, textile, fiber, wood, metal, plastic, and like materials), or mixed media (including a collage, assemblage, or any combination of the foregoing art media).
(2) “Artist” means the creator of a work of fine art.
(3) “Right of reproduction”, at the present state of commerce and technology shall be interpreted as including, but shall not be limited to, the following: reproduction of works of fine art as prints suitable for framing; facsimile casts of sculpture; reproductions used for greeting cards; reproductions in general books and magazines not devoted primarily to art, and in newspapers in other than art or news sections, when such reproductions in books, magazines, and newspapers are used for purposes similar to those of material for which the publishers customarily pay; art films; television, except from stations operated for educational purposes, or on programs for educational purposes from all stations; and reproductions used in any form of advertising, including magazines, calendars, newspapers, posters, billboards, films or television.
(e) The amendments to this section made at the 1975–76 Regular Session shall only apply to transfers made on or after January 1, 1976.
(Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 574, Sec. 4.)
983. If the owner of any invention or design intentionally makes it public, a copy or reproduction may be made public by any person, without responsiblily to the owner, so far as the law of this state is concerned.
(Amended by Stats. 1982, Ch. 574, Sec. 5.)
984. If the owner of an invention or design does not make it public, any other person subsequently and originally producing the same thing has the same right therein as the prior inventor, which is exclusive to the same extent against all persons except the prior inventor, or those claiming under him.
(Added by Stats. 1949, Ch. 921.)
985. Letters and other private communications in writing belong to the person to whom they are addressed and delivered; but they cannot be published against the will of the writer, except by authority of law.
(Enacted 1872.)
986. (a) Whenever a work of fine art is sold and the seller resides in California or the sale takes place in California,