• The name derives from Pushman v. New York Graphic Soc’y, Inc., 39 N.E.2d 249 (N.Y. 1942). The doctrine was rejected by § 202 of the Copyright Act of 1976, but it remains in effect for transfers completed before the provision’s effective date of January 1, 1978.
Pushman doctrine
Archaic. The rule that transfer of an unpublished work transfers the common-law copyright to the work along with the work itself.