Georgia § 44-12-311 - Rights and title; transfer to molder.

§ 44-12-311. Rights and title; transfer to molder.

In the absence of any agreement to the contrary, the customer shall have all rights and title to any die, mold, form, or pattern in the possession of the molder. If a customer does not claim possession from a molder of a die, mold, form, or pattern within three years following the last prior use, all rights and title to any die, mold, form, or pattern shall be transferred by operation of law to the molder for the purpose of destroying or otherwise disposing of such die, mold, form, or pattern, consistent with this Code section. If a molder chooses to have all rights and title to any die, mold, form, or pattern transferred to the molder by operation of law, the molder shall send written notice by registered mail or statutory overnight delivery to the chief executive officer of the customer or, if the customer is not a business entity, to the customer at the customer's last known address, indicating that the molder intends to terminate the customer's rights and title by having all such rights and title transferred to the molder by operation of law pursuant to this Code section. Such notice shall include a statement of the customer's rights as set forth in subsection (d) of this Code section. If a customer does not respond in person or by mail to claim possession of the particular die, mold, form, or pattern within 120 days following the date the notice was sent, or does not make other contractual arrangements with the molder for storage of the die, mold, form, or pattern, all rights and title of the customer, except patents and copyrights, shall transfer by operation of law to the molder. Thereafter, the molder may destroy or otherwise dispose of the particular die, mold, form, or pattern as the molder's own property without any risk of liability to the customer. This Code section shall not in any manner affect any right of the customer under federal patent or copyright law or federal law pertaining to unfair competition. (Code 1981, § 44-12-311 , enacted by Ga. L. 1999, p. 862, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 4.) The 2000 amendment, effective July 1, 2000, substituted "registered mail or statutory overnight delivery" for "registered mail" in subsection (c). Editor's notes. - Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 16, not codified by the General Assembly, provided that the Act is applicable with respect to notices delivered on or after July 1, 2000.