Page:Copyright Office Compendium 3rd Edition - Full.djvu/1153

This page needs to be proofread.
Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition

• If any of the author's children are deceased, all of the surviving children of any such deceased child of that author.

• A specific indication of the person or persons executing the notice who constitute more than one-half of that author's termination interest.

In the alternative, the notice may include a statement containing as much information concerning the author's heirs "as is currently available to the person or persons signing the notice, with a brief explanation of the reasons why full information is or may be lacking," and "[a] statement that, to the best knowledge and belief of the person or persons signing the notice, the notice has been signed by all persons whose signature is necessary to terminate the grant under section 203 of title 17, U.S.C., or by their duly authorized agents." 37 C.F.R. § 201.10(b)(2)(vii)(A)-(B).

NOTE: The use of the word "currently" is intended to avoid any implication that the terminating party is required to conduct an investigation in order to comply with this portion of the regulations.

In all cases, the terminating party or parties must provide "a complete and unambiguous statement of facts in the notice itself, without incorporation by reference of information in other documents or records." 37 C.F.R. § 201.10(b)(3).

2310.3(D)(1)(a) The Date of Execution and Date of Publication

As discussed in Section 2310.3(C), the beginning and the ending of the termination period are based on the date the grant was executed or, in the case of grants covering the right of publication, the earlier of forty years from the date of execution of the grant or thirty-five years from the date of publication. For these reasons, the notice must specify the date the grant was executed, and if a work was published under the grant, it also must specify the date that the work was published.

2310.3(D)(1)(b) Naming the Authors of a Joint Work

If the grant was executed by two or more authors of a joint work, then as discussed in Section 2310.3(B), the grant may be terminated by a majority of the joint authors who executed the grant or by a majority of his or her heirs if joint author is deceased. For these reasons, the notice of termination should identify all of the joint authors who executed the grant.

2310.3(D)(1)(c) A Copy of the Grant Is Not Required

In most cases, the party issuing the notice of termination may not have a copy of the grant that is being terminated or may not have access to a copy. For these reasons, the terminating party does not need to identify the location of the grant, offer to produce a copy of the grant, or attach a copy of the grant to the notice.

2310.3(D)(1)(d) Providing a Registration Number

Parties are encouraged to provide a registration number for each work listed in the notice of termination (if any), because this information may be useful in identifying the

Chapter 2300 : 52 12/22/2014


Chapter _00 : 52
12/22/2014