Also known as: termination rights · right of termination · rights of termination · right to terminate · termination clause · exit right
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A tenant's power to end a leasehold by vacating the leased property while the right exists. The tenant must also follow any lease terms on the method of termination or, absent such terms, take reasonable steps to inform the landlord of the decision and its reason.
A tenant's power to end a leasehold by vacating the leased property while the right exists. The tenant must also follow any lease terms on the method of termination or, absent such terms, take reasonable steps to inform the landlord of the decision and its reason.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
An author's statutory power to terminate a prior grant of copyright interests in a work, available notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
An author's statutory power to terminate a prior grant of copyright interests in a work, available notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Tonya Takahashi leased a training facility from Threshold Capital for her minor-league team. When mold appeared in the locker rooms, she removed all equipment, vacated the premises mid-season, and emailed the landlord stating the health reason for ending the arrangement. Because she both left the property and gave direct notice of her decision and its basis, her termination right took effect under the governing standard.
The tenant must vacate the property while the right exists, follow any lease-specified method of termination, and if no method is stated, give the landlord reasonable notice of the decision and its reason. These requirements ensure the landlord receives clear knowledge that the tenancy has ended.
Supporting sources
Tara Tran created illustrations for a comic series and later assigned the copyright to Topaz Mining under a written agreement. Years afterward she exercised her termination right by serving the required notice on the company. The assignment ended, restoring her ownership even though the original contract contained no termination clause.
Yes. The right remains available to the author or heirs notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, including agreements to make a will or future grants. Courts treat attempts to recharacterize a work as one made for hire as impermissible efforts to evade the right.
Supporting sources
A work made for hire vests initial copyright ownership in the employer or commissioning party, eliminating the author's termination right entirely. The classification therefore controls not only ownership but also the availability of later termination under the statute.
Supporting sources
…the initial ownership of its copyright, but also the copyright’s duration, § 302(c), and the owners’ renewal rights, § 304(a), termination rights, § 203(a), and right to import certain goods bearing the copyright, § 601(b)(1). The contours of the work for hire doctrine therefore carry profound significance for freelance creators —…