Broadcast Music, Inc. v. Roger Miller Music, Inc., Shannon Miller Turner

Plaintiff Broadcast Music Inc. ("BMI") filed this interpleader action to determine what portion of the interpleaded funds it is required to pay to defendant-appellee Shannon Miller Turner and defendant-appellant Roger Miller Music, Inc. ("RMMI"). The interpleaded funds consist of royalties generated from BMI's licensing of certain songs written by country music legend Roger Miller. Turner, a daughter of Miller, is entitled to some of these royalties under the Copyright Act because the copyrights to the songs at issue were renewed after Miller died, vesting Turner with an interest in these copyrights pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 304(a). The extent of Turner's interest in these copyrights depends on the magnitude of the interest formerly held by Mary Arnold Miller, Roger Miller's widow, who also obtained an interest in the renewal copyrights pursuant to § 304(a), and by Roger Miller's other surviving children, who likewise obtained interests in the renewal copyrights. Turner argued before the district court that Mary Arnold Miller and Roger Miller's seven children, herself included, all held equal shares in the renewed copyrights and that, therefore, she is entitled to 1/8 (12.5%) of the renewal copyright royalties. RMMI, to which Mary Arnold Miller and all of Roger Miller's children except Turner have assigned their renewal copyright interests, argued that Mary Arnold Miller obtained a fifty-percent interest in the renewal copyrights as Miller's surviving spouse and that Roger Miller's children held equal shares in the remaining fifty-percent of the renewal copyrights, or 7.14% each. The district court found that § 304(a) provides that the surviving spouse and children of an author who originally copyrighted a work share equally in that work's renewal copyright when that copyright is renewed after the author's death. RMMI appeals the judgment of the district court. For the following reasons, we reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment for Turner, grant summary judgment for RMMI, and remand the case for distribution of the interpleaded funds.

The facts in this case are undisputed. Roger Miller is a Grammy Award-winning legend of country music. Although Miller penned and performed many hit songs, he is most famous for the still-loved "King of the Road." Miller died on October 25, 1992. He is survived by his widow, Mary Arnold Miller, and seven children, including Turner.

This case concerns interests in the renewal copyrights of certain of Miller's works. A preliminary understanding of the renewal copyright scheme is necessary to appreciate the facts of the case. The Copyright Act provides that the copyright to any work copyrighted prior to January 1, 1978, endures for twenty-eight years from the date it was originally secured. 17 U.S.C. § 304(a)(1)(A). Once the twenty-eight year copyright period has expired, the copyright will be renewed for a term of sixty-seven years either by registration or, in the absence of registration, automatically. Id. § 304(a)(2)(B). If the copyright is renewed during the author's lifetime, the renewal copyright vests in the author. Id. § 304(a)(2)(B); 3 Melville B. Nimmer & David Nimmer, Nimmer on Copyright § 9.04 (2003) (hereinafter "Nimmer on Copyright"). If the author is deceased at the time of renewal but is survived by a spouse and/or children, the renewal copyright vests in the surviving spouse and/or children. 17 U.S.C. § 304(a)(2)(B); see also Nimmer on Copyright § 9.04[A]. The Copyright Act is silent, however, as to how the renewal copyright interest will be shared between an author's surviving spouse and children, which is the issue before us in this appeal.

Familiarity with some basics of the music industry is also crucial to understanding the nature of the dispute before the court. A person who writes a song often copyrights that song. The songwriter at that point owns 100% of that copyright. Generally, a songwriter assigns all of his interest in a copyrighted song to a music publisher. In return, the publisher agrees by contract to exploit the song on the market and to pay the writer royalties generated by such exploitation. Although arrangements vary by contract, the standard practice is that a publisher retains fifty-percent of the revenue generated by a song's exploitation (known as the publisher's share) and pays the other fifty-percent to the writer of the song (known as the writer's share).

Publishers, in turn, affiliate with performing rights organizations, which license the public performance rights of copyrighted musical compositions on behalf of their affiliates.1 By affiliating with such an organization, the publisher grants the organization the ability to license the public performance of the songs to which the publisher holds the copyright. BMI and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ("ASCAP") are the two principal performing rights organizations operating in the United States. These organizations pay to their affiliates in the form of royalties a portion of the revenues generated from licensing the public performance of songs. When a publisher affiliates with one of these organizations, it agrees to adhere to the articles and bylaws of the organization, which generally provide that public performance royalties will be divided between the publisher and the writer irrespective of other financial arrangements made between the those two parties. Commonly, writers and publishers agree to be paid their respective shares of performing rights royalties directly by the performing rights organization.

After Roger Miller's death, the copyrights to numerous songs penned and copyrighted by him prior to 1978 were renewed on separate occasions pursuant to § 304(a).2 These compositions are the subject of this dispute. Under § 304(a)(2)(B), these renewed copyrights vested in Mary Arnold Miller and Roger Miller's seven children. Mary Arnold Miller conveyed all of her renewal copyright interests3 to RMMI.4 Excepting Turner, all of Roger Miller's children also assigned their present and future renewal copyright interests to RMMI.

BMI collected royalties by licensing the songs at issue after the original copyright on each song expired and was subsequently renewed. BMI initially distributed these royalties to RMMI, a BMI affiliate. On February 2, 2001, Turner's attorney wrote BMI a letter requesting that the company pay Turner all royalties collected for the licensing of Miller's songs in which she held a renewal copyright interest commensurate with her interest in those songs. Turner claimed that she held a 12.5%, or 1/8, share in renewal copyrights and that she was thereby entitled to 12.5% of all royalties generated by the songs in which she held such an interest. RMMI disputed Turner's assertion that she owned a 12.5% share in any of the songs at issue. Thereafter, BMI withheld disputed royalties. In a letter to Turner's attorney written Match 6, 2001, BMI suggested that the parties resolve the dispute amicably. The parties failed to do so.

In an effort to determine its obligations under federal law, BMI filed this interpleader action on May 18, 2001, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1335, seeking a declaratory judgment as to the entitlement of RMMI and Turner to royalties generated from the licensing of Miller's songs. At the time of the complaint, the funds at issue amounted to $30,425.60. This sum represented 12.5% of the publisher's share of the royalties generated, or 6.25% of total royalties. On May 24, 2001, the district court ordered BMI to place those funds in an interest-bearing account. BMI complied with the order. RMMI filed a cross-claim against Turner on June 19, 2001. RMMI argued that Turner's claim for royalties was barred by laches and the three-year statute of limitations set forth in the Copyright Act at 17 U.S.C. § 507(b). Because its position was that Turner was entitled to 7.14% of the total royalties, RMMI did not dispute that Turner was entitled to the interpleaded funds; however, it asserted that she was not entitled to a full 12.5% of all royalties. In response, Turner filed a motion to dismiss the interpleader complaint on June 29, 2001. Turner asserted that the case should be dismissed since RMMI conceded that she was entitled to the interpleaded amount. However, after filing the interpleader complaint, BMI began withholding 12.5% of all royalties — both the writer's and publisher's share — generated from the public licensing of the songs at issue and notified the court that it intended to interplead these royalties in addition to the prior interpleaded funds, which consisted only of the publisher's share. The court ordered BMI to interplead these additional total royalties on August 1, 2001, and BMI again complied. As a result, the district court denied Turner's motion to dismiss, noting that — while the parties did not dispute that Turner was entitled to the funds initially interpleaded — the parties did dispute whether she was entitled to a full 12.5% of total royalties.

RMMI then filed a motion for summary judgment on October 4, 2001. RMMI argued that the Copyright Act provides that, when a copyright originally secured by an author prior to 1978 is renewed after the author's death, the author's surviving spouse obtains a fifty-percent share in the renewed copyright, while the author's surviving children obtain equal shares in the remaining fifty-percent. RMMI also asserted that Turner's claim for royalties was barred by the statute of limitations set forth at 17 U.S.C. § 507(b) and by laches. Turner filed her own motion for summary judgment on October 5, 2001, arguing that an author's surviving spouse and children obtain equal shares in any copyright originally secured by the author prior to 1978 and renewed after the author's death. The district court found Turner's proffered interpretation of § 304(a) most persuasive and also determined that the statute of limitations and laches did not bar Turner from recovery. The district court therefore denied RMMI's motion for summary judgment and granted Turner's motion.

On April 22, 2002, RMMI filed a motion requesting that the district court alter or amend its judgment with respect to its disposal of RMMI's statute of limitations and laches claims. RMMI asserted that the court should have found that Turner was barred from recovering royalties from RMMI. The district court denied this motion on May 29, 2002.

RMMI filed a timely notice of appeal on June 6, 2002, appealing the district court's denial of its motion to alter or amend the judgment, the district court's denial of RMMI's motion for summary judgment, and the district court's grant of summary judgment for Turner.

This court reviews a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. Little v. BP Exploration & Oil Co., 265 F.3d 357, 361 (6th Cir.2001). Summary judgment is appropriate if "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Likewise, when a district court denies a motion filed pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(e) to alter or amend a grant of summary judgment, we review the denial de novo. Cockrel v. Shelby County Sch. Dist., 270 F.3d 1036, 1047 (6th Cir.2001).

The principal issue in this case concerns the proper interpretation of the provisions of the Copyright Act dealing with the renewal of copyrights that originally existed on or prior to January 1, 1978. The Act provides that "[a]ny copyright, the first term of which is subsisting on January 1, 1978, shall endure for 28 years from the date it was originally secured." 17 U.S.C. § 304(a)(1)(A). Upon expiration, such copyrights are renewed for an extended term. Renewal schemes vary according to the nature of the work copyrighted. According to 17 U.S.C. § 304(a)(1)(B),

[i]n the case of(i) any posthumous work or of any periodical, cyclopedic, or other composite work upon which the copyright was originally secured by the proprietor thereof, or (ii) any work copyrighted by a corporate body ... or by an employer for whom such work is made for hire, the proprietor of such copyright shall be entitled to a renewal and extension of the copyright in such work for the further term of 67 years.

The copyrights for all other works are renewed under another scheme. Under this alternate scheme, "(i) the author of such work, if the author is still living, [or] (ii) the widow, widower, or children of the author, if the author is not living,... shall be entitled to a renewal and extension of the copyright in such work for a further term of 67 years." § 304(a)(1)(C). Although the disjunctive language in § 304(a)(1)(C) suggests that either a deceased author's surviving spouse or his children, but not both, have interests in a renewal copyright created after the author's death, Congress has made clear that an author's surviving spouse and children may simultaneously obtain shares in a renewed copyright. The Act states that, when a copyright is renewed pursuant to § 304(a)(1)(C),

the copyright shall endure for a renewed and extended further term of 67 years, which — (i) if an application to register a claim to such further term has been made to the Copyright Office within 1 year before the expiration of the original term of copyright, and the claim is registered, shall vest, upon the beginning of such further term, in any person who is entitled under paragraph (1)(C) to the renewal and extension of the copyright at the time the application is made; or (ii) if no such application is made or the claim pursuant to such application is not registered, shall vest, upon the beginning of such further term, in any person entitled under paragraph (1)(C), as of the last day of the original term of copyright, to the renewal and extension of the copyright.

§ 304(a)(2)(B) (emphasis added). By providing that copyright interests will vest in any person entitled to renew and extend the copyright under § 304(a)(1)(C), § 304(a)(2)(B) necessarily provides that renewal copyright interests can be held simultaneously by numerous parties.5 As surviving spouses and children are entitled to renew and extend copyrights when an author is deceased, id. § 304(a)(1)(C), it is clear that an author's children and an author's surviving spouse may simultaneously hold ownership interests in renewed copyrights if the author is deceased at the time of renewal. Id. § 304(a)(2)(B); see also DeSylva v. Ballentine, 351 U.S. 570, 76 S.Ct. 974, 100 L.Ed. 1415 (1956) (construing the Copyright Act prior to the adoption of § 304(a)(2)(B) and holding that an author's surviving spouse and children are each entitled to shares in a copyright renewed after the author's death). What is unclear from the statute, however, is the exact proportion of the renewal interest that vests in each eligible party.6

The Supreme Court has clarified certain other aspects of these renewal provisions. In Fred Fisher Music Co. v. M. Witmark & Sons, 318 U.S. 643, 63 S.Ct. 773, 87 L.Ed. 1055 (1943), the Court held that an author can assign renewal copyright interests in his works prior to their vesting at the end of an original copyright term and that he is bound by such an assignment if the renewal copyright vests in him prior to his death. Id. at 658-59, 63 S.Ct. 773. For instance, an author can assign both his original and renewal copyright interests at once, even though the renewal copyright has not yet begun, and the author is bound by the assignment if the renewal copyright begins during his life.

In Miller Music Corp. v. Charles N. Daniels, Inc., 362 U.S. 373, 80 S.Ct. 792, 4 L.Ed.2d 804 (1960), the Court held that the conveyance of a renewal copyright interest by an author prior to the vesting of that renewal copyright interest in him is a mere expectancy or contingency interest. Thus, if the author dies prior to the vesting of the renewal copyright, the party to whom the author conveyed the renewal copyright has no entitlement to that renewal copyright. Id. at 375, 80 S.Ct. 792. Rather, when the renewal copyright vests, it will vest in the spouse and children of the author, provided they are living, pursuant to the renewal provisions. Id. While the cases clarify certain aspects of the renewal copyright scheme, Fisher Music and Miller Music do not illuminate how renewal interests should be divided between an author's surviving spouse and children when the renewal copyright vests after the author's death.

RMMI argues for a "disproportionate shares" interpretation of § 304(a) providing that, when a copyright to a work is renewed after the death of the author of the work in question, the surviving spouse of the author obtains a fifty-percent undivided interest in the renewal copyright and that the author's surviving children take the remaining fifty-percent interest in the renewal copyright in equal shares. Turner argues for an "equal shares" interpretation of § 304(a) providing that the interests in copyrights renewed after the death of an author are shared equally among the author's children and the author's surviving spouse. Finding no support in the statute or in its legislative history for the proposition that renewal copyright interests are shared disproportionately, the district court adopted the interpretation offered by Turner. RMMI appeals this determination. This court reviews a district court's statutory interpretations de novo. United States v. Rapanos, 339 F.3d 447, 450 (6th Cir.2003).

When construing a legislative enactment, courts are to give effect to the intention of the legislature adopting the statute or provision in question. Good Samaritan Hosp. v. Shalala, 508 U.S. 402, 409, 113 S.Ct. 2151, 124 L.Ed.2d 368 (1993) (citing Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 842, 104 S.Ct. 2778, 81 L.Ed.2d 694 (1984)); Hedgepeth v. Tennessee, 215 F.3d 608, 616 (6th Cir.2000) ("The primary rule of statutory construction is to ascertain and give effect to the legislative intent."). To determine legislative intent, a court must first look to the language of the statute itself. Bd. of Ed. of Westside Cmty. Schs. v. Mergens, 496 U.S. 226, 237, 110 S.Ct. 2356, 110 L.Ed.2d 191 (1990); Mills Music, Inc. v. Snyder, 469 U.S. 153, 164, 105 S.Ct. 638, 83 L.Ed.2d 556 (1985). If the language of the statute is clear, a court must give effect to this plain meaning. See Barnhart v. Sigmon Coal, Inc., 534 U.S. 438, 451, 122 S.Ct. 941, 151 L.Ed.2d 908 (2002). In discerning whether a statute offers a plain meaning, a court looks to the language and design of the statute as a whole. United States v. Ninety-Three Firearms, 330 F.3d 414, 420 (6th Cir.2003). Courts are to make every effort to interpret provisions so that other provisions in the statute are not rendered inconsistent, superfluous, or meaningless. Cafarelli v. Yancy, 226 F.3d 492, 499 (6th Cir.2000). If after such an analysis a statute's meaning remains ambiguous, a court may look to the legislative history surrounding the adoption of the statute to aid in its determination of the legislature's intention in enacting the statute or provision at issue. Mitchell v. Chapman, 343 F.3d 811, 826 (6th Cir.2003); Ninety-Three Firearms, 330 F.3d at 420; United States v. Markwood, 48 F.3d 969, 975 n. 7 (6th Cir.1995) ("[W]hen there is an ambiguous term in a statute, or when a term is undefined or its meaning unclear from the context of the statute, it is our duty to examine the legislative history in order to render an interpretation that gives effect to Congress's intent."). Because § 304(a) is itself silent as to the issue at hand, we look to the statute as a whole to determine if other provisions are instructive as to congressional intent and the proper interpretation of this provision.

Section 304(c) of the Copyright Act provides that the conveyance of an interest in a renewal copyright may, in certain instances, be terminated. According to § 304(c), any conveyance, other than by will,7 executed before January 1, 1978, by a person entitled to renew and extend a copyright under § 304(a)(1)(C), of a renewal copyright interest related to an original or renewal copyright subsisting on January 1, 1978, is potentially subject to termination. A person who conveys a renewal copyright interest prior to January 1, 1978, may terminate that conveyance pursuant to the provisions of § 304(c). For instance, an author is entitled, after a certain period of time, to terminate any interests in a renewal copyright conveyed by him. Id. § 304(c)(1). If an author is dead, § 304(c)(1) provides that the author's right to terminate his own transfer of an interest in a renewal copyright is owned and may be exercised in the following manner:

(A) the widow or widower owns the author's entire termination interest unless there are any surviving children or grandchildren of the author, in which case the widow or widower owns one-half of the author's interest;

(B) the author's surviving children, and the surviving children of any dead child of the author, own the author's entire termination interest unless there is a widow or widower, in which case the ownership of one-half of the author's interest is divided among them;

(C) the rights of the author's children and grandchildren are in all cases divided among them and exercised on a per stirpes basis according to the number of such author's children represented.

To effectuate termination of a transfer of a renewal copyright interest initially made by the author, over fifty-percent of the termination interests must support termination. Id. § 304(c)(1). A termination right may be exercised during a period of five years commencing from the end of fifty-six years from the date the copyright was originally secured or commencing from January 1, 1978, whichever is later. Id. § 304(c)(1)(D).

Importantly, if a deceased author's surviving spouse and children exercise their right to terminate renewal copyright interests conveyed by the author prior to his death, those terminated renewal copyright interests will revert to all the parties holding a termination interest, including those who did not exercise the right to terminate the transfer renewal rights. Id. § 304(c)(6). When the renewal rights revert to the spouse and children after an exercise of the termination interests pursuant to § 304(c)(2), "they shall vest in those persons in the proportionate shares provided by that clause." Id. § 304(c)(6)(C) (emphasis added). In other words, if a majority of shares of those with an author's termination rights exercise those rights to terminate a grant by the author of renewal interests, a fifty-percent share of the terminated renewal copyright interests will vest in the surviving spouse, and the surviving children will divide the remaining fifty-percent in equal divided shares.

The Copyright Act also provides a process for terminating transfers of any copyright interest executed on or after January 1, 1978.8 See id. § 203(a). Under § 203(a), the surviving spouse and the children of a deceased author may terminate any conveyance of a copyright interest executed on or after January 1, 1978, by the author of the copyrighted work.9 A surviving spouse owns fifty-percent of the author's termination interest and any surviving children hold equal shares in the remaining fifty-percent of the termination interest. Id. § 203(a)(2)(A)-(B). Termination may be exercised only with the support of a majority of the termination interest shares. Id. § 203(a)(1). The termination interest may be exercised beginning thirty-five years from the date of the execution of the conveyance and continuing for a period of five years. Id. § 203(a)(3). If a majority of termination interest shares vote to terminate an author's grant of an interest in a copyright, the terminated rights revert to the surviving spouse and the author's surviving children proportionate to their termination interest. Id. § 203(b)(2). In other words, upon termination, a fifty-percent interest in the terminated copyright would vest in the surviving spouse and the author's surviving children would share the remaining fifty-percent of the copyright in equal shares.

The nature of the copyright interest terminated under § 203 differs from the nature of the copyright interest terminated under § 304(c). The copyright interest terminated under § 304(c) is, by the very language of the provision itself, necessarily related to a renewal copyright. Id. ("In the case of any copyright subsisting in either its first or renewal term on January 1, 1978, ... the exclusive or nonexclusive grant of a transfer or license of the renewal copyright or any right under it, executed before January 1, 1978,... is subject to termination....") (emphasis added). That termination under § 304(c) pertains only to grants of renewal copyright interests is evident by the manner in which the provision operates as well. Termination under § 304(c) can only be exercised beginning fifty-six years from the date the original copyright was secured, or on January 1, 1978, whichever is later. Id. § 304(c)(3). Since the term of copyrights secured on or before January 1, 1978, is only twenty-eight years, id. § 304(a)(1)(A), any copyright interest terminated fifty-six years after the institution of the original copyright or later is necessarily an interest related to a renewal copyright.

Distinctively, copyright interests terminated under § 203 may be, but are not necessarily, renewal copyright interests. Whereas § 304(c) implicates only copyrights subsisting on January 1, 1978, for the purposes of § 203(a), only the date of execution of the conveyance — not the date on which the original copyright was subsisting — has significance. Any conveyance of a copyright interest executed on or after January 1, 1978, is potentially subject to termination pursuant to § 203. Id. § 203(a). Because copyrights created on or after January 1, 1978, are not subject to the renewal scheme, see id. § 302(a), such copyrights will never transform into renewal copyrights and, consequently, transfers of such copyrights will never involve renewal copyright interests. Hence, the termination of conveyances of copyrights that originated on or after January 1, 1978, will not involve the vesting of renewal copyrights. Copyrights originally secured prior to January 1, 1978, on the other hand, are subject to the renewal scheme. Id. § 304(a). But § 304(c) only deals with the termination of transfers of the renewal copyrights of such copyrights that are executed prior to January 1, 1978. All transfers of renewal copyrights executed by an author after January 1, 1978, are governed by § 203. Hence, the termination of copyright interests under § 203 may but does not necessarily involve renewal copyright interests. When transfers of renewal copyrights by an author are terminated under § 203, however, those renewal copyrights vest in disproportionate shares between an author's surviving spouse and children, just as is the case under § 304(c).

Section 203 and § 304(c) are the only provisions in the Copyright Act that explicitly provide for how a deceased author's surviving spouse and children shall share renewal copyright interests, albeit after termination. No other provision in the Act provides for any other distributive scheme with respect to an author's surviving spouse and children for any copyright interest whatsoever, much less a scheme dictating that an author's surviving spouse and children will hold renewal copyright interests in equal shares. As such, § 203 and § 304(c) represent the best indication of congressional intent with respect to how renewal copyright interests should vest between a deceased author's surviving spouse and children upon creation. Specifically, the provisions suggest that Congress intended renewal copyrights to vest in disproportionate shares under § 304(a).

Several additional factors corroborate this conclusion. For instance, a survey of the manner in which the Copyright Act utilizes the term "vest" supports the disproportionate shares interpretation. "Vest" is not found frequently in the Copyright Act. The term first appears at 17 U.S.C. § 104A(a)(1)(A) & (b). Section 104A pertains to restored copyrights. Subsection 104A(a)(1)(A) merely provides that a copyright in a restored work vests automatically on the date of restoration. Subsection 104A(b), in turn, provides that a restored copyright vests initially in the author of the restored work. The term "vest" next appears at § 201, which states that a copyright will vest initially in the author of the work copyrighted and, for contributions to collected works, a copyright will vest in the author of the contribution that will be distinct from the copyright for the collected work. The next point at which "vest" arises in the Act, and the first time it refers to the rights of an author's surviving spouse and children, is at § 203(b). As discussed, § 203(b) provides that, after an author's transfer of a copyright interest is terminated by the author's widow and children under the termination provision, the rights terminated will vest in an author's widow and children in shares proportionate to their termination rights. Section 203(b) then describes how parties in which terminated rights have vested may alienate those rights. The term "vest" is next found, again in reference to the rights of an author's spouse and children, at § 304. At § 304(a), the term describes how and when copyrights will vest upon renewal. As previously discussed, the subsection provides that renewal copyrights will vest in an author's surviving spouse and children if the author is deceased at the time of renewal, but it does not explicitly state in what proportion the widow and children shall share the renewal copyright. At § 304(c), the term "vest" is used to describe who will obtain the rights to a renewal copyright if a previous transfer of that renewal copyright is terminated. As at § 203, § 304(c) provides that, when a terminated renewal copyright vests in an author's surviving spouse and children, it vests in shares of the same proportion as the termination rights provided the widow and children. The term "vested" appears again at § 701, but only in reference to the powers vested in the Copyright Office by law. "Vest" surfaces for the last time in the Act at § 1320 and refers to who owns the property right to a design protected by Chapter 13 of the Copyright Act. At no point in the Act does "vest" refer to copyrights being divided into equal shares. And when the Act explicitly provides for how copyright interests will vest in an author's surviving spouse and children when they are entitled to such interests, it provides that those interests will vest in disproportionate shares between the widow and the children. Applying the term "vest" consistently, particularly when in reference to the rights of an author's surviving widow and children, supports the disproportionate shares interpretation that a surviving spouse obtains a fifty-percent interest in a renewal copyright upon renewal, while an author's surviving children obtain equal shares in the remaining fifty-percent.

The disproportionate shares interpretation is also bolstered by the fact that an equal shares interpretation would produce an odd result. If we interpreted § 304(a) as providing for equal shares, the shares eventually held by a widow and her children would ultimately rest upon whether the author assigned copyright interests that vested prior to his death, or, instead, never assigned such interests or assigned interests that vested only after his death. In the case of the former, a surviving spouse would hold a fifty-percent interest in the event of the termination of that transferred renewal interest and the author's surviving children would share the remaining fifty-percent equally. In the case of the latter, all parties would share equally upon renewal of the copyright. No statutory language suggests why such a result should occur. In addition, no logic readily comes to mind to support disparate results under these two scenarios. Insofar as an equal shares interpretation would produce absurd results, it should be avoided. See Griffin v. Oceanic Contractors, Inc., 458 U.S. 564, 575, 102 S.Ct. 3245, 73 L.Ed.2d 973 (1982) ("[I]nterpretations of a statute which would produce absurd results are to be avoided if alternative interpretations consistent with the legislative purpose are available.").

The district court was not persuaded that the Copyright Act's termination provisions are sufficiently similar to § 304(a) so that renewal copyright interests should vest upon renewal in the same manner they vest upon termination. The principal basis for the district court's refusal to adopt this approach was its understanding that termination can be effected only by the agreement of those possessing a majority of the termination interests, whereas renewal interests vest if any one of those entitled to such an interest exercises that right. Without further explanation, the court concluded that the fact that the termination interest is exercised differently than the renewal interest requires that such interests vest differently. First of all, the district court's reasoning contains a misapprehension of copyright law. A renewal copyright will automatically vest as of the last day of the original copyright in any person entitled to the renewal copyright even absent an affirmative act by any such person. See 17 U.S.C. § 304(a)(2)(B)(ii). No renewal copyright interest need be exercised to obtain ownership. Second, the district court's reasoning provides no explanation for why the distinction offered requires that the reversion of renewal copyrights upon termination and upon renewal differ.

The district court also noted that "the termination interest [is] a separate and distinct right." Termination is separate and distinct in the sense that it is exercised in a different manner than the renewal right. However, the aim of the termination provision is the same as that of the renewal provision. Both provisions seek to provide an author and his descendants the power to recapture ownership of a previously assigned copyright. Moreover, the termination right is necessarily distinct from the renewal interest because the termination interest, particularly as provided for in § 304(c), operates to enable the recapture of a pre