When completing a Single Application the applicant should provide this information on the screen marked Author.
When completing a paper application, the citizenship and domicile for each author named in the application should be entered in space 2 in the spaces marked “Citizen of ______” and “Domiciled in __________.”
If the author is a citizen of or domiciled in more than one country, the applicant may provide the name of each country where the author is a citizen or is domiciled. In the case of an online application, the applicant may provide the name of one country on the Author screen and the names of the other countries may be provided in the Note to Copyright Office field. In the case of a paper application, the name of each country may be provided on the application itself, on a continuation sheet, or in a cover letter. In the alternative, the applicant may provide the name of any country that establishes that the work is eligible for copyright protection under U.S. copyright law.
If the author is a stateless person, the applicant may select “no place” from the drop down menu in the online application or state “no place” or “stateless” in the paper application.
If the citizenship and domicile for the author is unknown, the applicant may select “not known” from the drop down menu in the online application. When completing a paper application, the applicant may leave this portion of the application blank or may state “not known.”
617.7 Examination Guidelines: Citizenship and Domicile
This Section discusses the U.S. Copyright Office’s practices and procedures for examining the Citizenship and Domicile field/space in an online application or a paper application.
617.7(A) Citizenship and Domicile Unclear
As a general rule, the registration specialist will accept a statement concerning the author’s citizenship or domicile, unless it is clearly inconsistent with the facts set forth in the registration materials or other information known to the U.S. Copyright Office.
Examples:
- The application states that the author John Germaine is a U.S. citizen and that the work has been published, but fails to provide a nation of first publication. In the Note to Copyright Office field the applicant explains that the author has applied for citizenship, but has not been naturalized. The registration specialist will communicate with the applicant to determine if there is a basis for establishing that the work is eligible for copyright protection under U.S. law.
- An application for a work by a prominent European politician states that the author is domiciled in the United States. The application also states that the work has been published, but fails to identify the
