California Codes

Cal. Civil Code § 980 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
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(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.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 41 cases, 1947–2020 · leading case: UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Global Eagle Ent., Inc., 117 F. Supp. 3d 1092 (C.D. Cal. 2015).
UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Global Eagle Ent., Inc., 117 F. Supp. 3d 1092 (C.D. Cal. 2015). · cites it 2× “; state law copyright infringement under California Civil Code § 980(a)(2); violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law.”
Capitol Records, LLC v. Bluebeat, Inc., 765 F. Supp. 2d 1198 (C.D. Cal. 2010). · cites it 2× “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.”
Flo & Eddie, Inc. v. Pandora Media, Inc., 851 F.3d 950 (9th Cir. 2017). · cites it 3× “Cal. Civ. Code § 980 (a) (1949). At the same time, section 988(a) of the California Civil Code divested any common law rights once “the owner of a composition in letters or arts publishe[d] it.”
Atl. Recording Corp. v. Chin-Liang Chan (In Re Chin-Liang Chan), 325 B.R. 432 (Bankr. N.D. Cal. 2005). · cites it 4× “Statutory Damages for Copyright Infringement The fifth claim for relief in the Copyright Infringement Action was for damages under Cal. Civ.Code § 980. With respect to this claim, the district court noted that California law provides a remedy for copyright infringement for…”
Sheridan v. iheartMedia, Inc., 255 F. Supp. 3d 767 (N.D. Ill. 2017). · cites it 2× “See Cal. Civ. Code § 980 (a)(2); see also Flo & Eddie Inc.”
Desny v. Wilder, 299 P.2d 257 (Cal. 1956). · cites it 2× “) [39] Plaintiff here has no statutory copyright.”
Richlin v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Inc., 531 F.3d 962 (9th Cir. 2008). “Pursuant to former California Civil Code § 980 et seq., they had the right “to exclusively possess it, use it, and transfer or otherwise dispose of it.”
Stanley v. Columbia Broad. Sys., Inc., 221 P.2d 73 (Cal. 1950). · cites it 2× “(Civ. Code, § 980; Barsha v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Corp.”
Klekas v. EMI Films, Inc., 224 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 1044 (Cal. Ct. App. 1984). · cites it 2× “In this regard, Civil Code section 980, subdivision (a) provides as follows: “The author or proprietor of any composition in letters or art *1109 has an exclusive ownership in the representation or expression thereof as against all persons except one who originally and…”
Golding v. R.K.O. Pictures, Inc., 221 P.2d 95 (Cal. 1950). · cites it 2× “" (Civ. Code, § 980.) Themes, ideas, and plots in books or plays are a common fund from which every author may draw the basic materials of his work without restriction.”
Kurlan v. Columbia Broad. Sys., Inc., 256 P.2d 962 (Cal. 1953). · cites it 2× “Among those listed was "a composition in letters or art," and protection was extended not only to the product itself, that is, to the composition in letters or art, but also to any representation or expression thereof.”
Bridge Publications, Inc. v. Vien, 827 F. Supp. 629 (S.D. Cal. 1993). · cites it 2× “Ron Hubbard’s tape recorded lectures which were fixed on tape prior to February 15, 1972 and, therefore, are protected under California Civil Code section 980(a)(2). See Goldstein v.”
— Cal. Civil Code § 980(a)(1) — 1 case
United States v. Martignon, 492 F.3d 140 (2d Cir. 2007).
— Cal. Civil Code § 980(a)(2) — 8 cases
UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Global Eagle Ent., Inc., 117 F. Supp. 3d 1092 (C.D. Cal. 2015). “; state law copyright infringement under California Civil Code § 980(a)(2); violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law.”
Capitol Records, LLC v. Bluebeat, Inc., 765 F. Supp. 2d 1198 (C.D. Cal. 2010). “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.”
Bridge Publications, Inc. v. Vien, 827 F. Supp. 629 (S.D. Cal. 1993). “Ron Hubbard’s tape recorded lectures which were fixed on tape prior to February 15, 1972 and, therefore, are protected under California Civil Code section 980(a)(2). See Goldstein v.”
In Re Napster, Inc. Copyright Litig., 191 F. Supp. 2d 1087 (N.D. Cal. 2002).
A & M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc., 114 F. Supp. 2d 896 (N.D. Cal. 2000).
— Cal. Civil Code § 980(b) — 1 case
White v. Kaiser-Frazer Corp., 224 P.2d 833 (Cal. Ct. App. 1950).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.