---
title: Reversion: what it means and what it does to the money
publisher: RapCanon
canonical: https://rapcanon.com/glossary/reversion/
license: CC-BY-4.0
retrieved: 2026-08-12
---

> Reversion is the return of rights to their original owner, either because a contract term provided for it or because a statutory right allows a transfer to be terminated after a defined period.

Glossary · Ownership

 
# Reversion

 
also filed under: rights reversion, termination right, getting your masters back

 
 

 
 Reversion is the return of rights to their original owner, either because a contract term provided for it or because a statutory right allows a transfer to be terminated after a defined period. 

 
## The mechanism

 
Contractual reversion happens on conditions written into the agreement. Statutory termination is a separate right created by copyright law, exercisable within specific windows and requiring notice in a prescribed form and timeframe.

 
## A worked example

 An artist whose recordings were assigned decades ago may become able to terminate that assignment, but only by serving notice inside the statutory window. 

 
## What it is confused with

 - Buying your masters back A purchase is a negotiation at whatever price the owner sets. Reversion is a right that does not require the owner's agreement.
 

 
## Why it matters

 
The windows are strict and the notice requirements are formal, so the right is routinely lost by inaction rather than refused.

 
Sources: US Copyright Office
 This entry is part of an open dataset published under CC-BY 4.0. Reuse it, including commercially, with attribution.
 Related: Recoupment · Black box royalties · 360 deal

---

## How to cite this page

**APA**
RapCanon. (2026). Reversion: what it means and what it does to the money. Retrieved from https://rapcanon.com/glossary/reversion/

**BibTeX**
```bibtex
@misc{rapcanon-glossary-reversion,
  title  = {Reversion: what it means and what it does to the money},
  author = {{RapCanon}},
  year   = {2026},
  url    = {https://rapcanon.com/glossary/reversion/},
  note   = {Accessed: 2026-08-12}
}
```

**Wikipedia**
```
{{cite web |title=Reversion: what it means and what it does to the money |url=https://rapcanon.com/glossary/reversion/ |publisher=RapCanon |access-date=2026-08-12}}
```

Licensed CC-BY 4.0. Reuse it, including commercially, with attribution and a link back.
Canonical HTML: https://rapcanon.com/glossary/reversion/