Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition
McKenzie and Suzie Jones.” Because Billy’s name does not appear on the deposit, the registration specialist will communicate with the applicant to determine if Billy is, in fact, an author of this work.
If the authors named in the deposit copy(ies) outnumber the authors named in the application and if it is clear that the unnamed authors created the copyrightable material that the applicant intends to register, the registration specialist will communicate with the applicant.
Examples:
- An application is submitted for a book that contains text and photographs. The application names John Hously as the author of the “text.” A statement on the deposit copies reads “Written by John Hously; Photographs by Larry Fogley.” The registration specialist will register the claim without communicating with the applicant. The applicant asserted a claim in the text (rather than the photographs), the author of the text is named in the application, and there is no conflict between the name that appears in the application and the name that appears in the deposit copies.
- An application for a song titled “Running Up the Down Escalator” names Mark Richards and David Anderson as the authors of the work. The liner notes state that the song was written by Mark Richards, David Anderson, and Stephen Davis. In the Note to Copyright Office field the applicant confirms that Mark and David are the sole authors of this work and that the statement on the deposit copy is incorrect. The specialist will register the claim, and will add a note to the registration record indicating that there is correspondence on file.
- Catherine Jones submits an online application for a screenplay titled Systemic Collapse. The application names Catherine as the author for the “text,” but the screenplay states “Systemic Collapse by Catherine Jones and Howard Finkelman.” The registration specialist will communicate with the applicant to determine whether Howard’s name should be added to the application as a co-author of the text.
- An application is submitted for a CD naming Cathy Gardner as the author of music, lyrics, and artwork. However, the deposit copy names Cathy as the author of the music and lyrics and James Holmes as the author of the artwork. The registration specialist will communicate with the applicant to determine if James should be added to the application as the author of the artwork.
Chapter 600 : 80
12/22/2014
