This page has been validated.
Ch. 7
7.1.2
7.1.2
7-4
7.1.2
Copyright Office Policy. In general, a statement of citizenship or domicile will be accepted at face value. Such a statement will not be questioned unless it is contradicted by other information in the file, or unless it appears contrary to facts that are commonly known. Likewise, the Copyright Office will not attempt to settle questions of domicile or offer opinions on the subject in a particular case.
Examples:
(1)
An application stating that the author is a U.S. citizen will be questioned where the accompanying letter indicates that he has applied for citizenship but has not yet been naturalized.
(2)
An application stating, for instance that Shostakovich is a Polish citizen will be questioned.
7.1.3
Authors and Proprietors
I.
Author's citizenship determinative. In general, it is the citizenship or domicile) of the "author" of a work, rather than that of the copyright owner, that determines its eligibility for U.S. copyright. The citizenship of the copyright owner, as such, is generally immaterial for this purpose.
Examples:
(1)
A work by a U.S. citizen may be registered even if the copyright is claimed by a citizen of Turkey (With which the U.S. has no copyright relations).
(2)
A composition by Shostakovich, a Russian citizen, first published abroad in a non U.C.C. country, will not be registered even if copyright is claimed by a U.S. publisher.
