“ SRF has introduced sufficient evidence to create a triable issue as to whether it held valid initial copyrights to Yogananda's writings through an informal assignment of Yogananda's common law copyrights. We therefore reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment with regard to any works copied in their initial copyright terms, and remand for further proceedings. ”

“ The 1909 Act vested renewal rights in the author, if still living at the time the initial copyright term expired, or the author's next of kin or executor if the author was deceased. See 17 U.S.C. § 24 (repealed) . The 1909 Act contained only four exceptions to this exclusive right of reversion. A copyright owner who was not the original author could renew copyrights in (1) posthumous works, (2) periodical, encyclopedic, and composite works, (3) works copyrighted by a corporate body (other than as an assignee or licensee of the original author) , and (4) works made for hire. ”

“ We reverse and remand for further proceedings the claims of copyright infringement pertaining to the books copied during their initial terms, all periodical articles, the sound recordings, and the photographs by Clifford Frederick and Durga Mata.
AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED. Each party to bear its own costs. ”

“ The 1909 Act did not extend any protection to sound recordings, however. With respect to Yogananda's recorded lectures, SRF claims a common law copyright enforceable under California law. See Klekas v. EMI Films, Inc., 150 Cal. App. 3d 1102, 1108-09 (Ct. App. 1984) (explaining that before passage of the 1976 Act, works not protected by the federal copyright statute were protected by state law) . Cal. Civ. Code § 980 extends common law copyright protection to sound recordings, and Cal. Civ. Code § 982 permits authors to transfer their rights in such works. ”