on behalf of the author or a person or entity that owns all the rights under copyright that initially belonged to the author.
619.11 One Registration Per Work
A registration that has been issued to an author of a work or a person or entity that owns all the rights that initially belonged to the author secures the statutory benefits of registration to any other author or any other person or entity that owns one or more of the exclusive rights in that work. Consequently, the U.S. Copyright Office will not knowingly issue more than one basic registration for the same work. 37 C.F.R. § 202.3(b)(11); Applications for Registration of Claim to Copyright under Revised Copyright Act, 42 Fed. Reg. at 48,945. However, there are three exceptions to this rule:
- If the work was previously registered as an unpublished work, the Office may issue another registration for the first published edition of that work, even if the published version “is substantially the same as the unpublished version.” 17 U.S.C. § 408(e); 37 C.F.R. § 202.3(b)(11)(i).
- An author may seek a separate registration naming himself or herself as the copyright claimant, even though the Office has already issued another registration that names a different individual or legal entity as the copyright claimant for that work. This is because an author is always able to file as a copyright claimant. 37 C.F.R. § 202.3(b)(11)(ii).
- The Office may issue another registration for a work if an applicant alleges that an earlier registration for the same version of that work is unauthorized and legally invalid. 37 C.F.R. § 202.3(b)(11)(iii). For a discussion of adverse claims, see Chapter 1800, Section 1807.
For a general discussion of these exceptions, see Chapter 500, Sections 510.1 through 510.3.
619.12 Completing the Application: Name of Claimant
When completing an online application, the applicant should provide the claimant’s name and address on the Claimants screen. (When completing the Single Application the applicant should provide this information on the Claimant screen.)
If the claimant is an individual, the applicant should provide the claimant’s first and last name in the fields that appear under the heading Individual Claimant. If the claimant is a legal entity, the applicant should provide the entity’s name in the field marked Organization Name. The claimant’s address should be provided in the fields marked Address 1, Address 2, City, State, Postal Code, Country. If the copyright is co-owned by two or more parties, the applicant should repeat this process and add the names of each additional claimant.
When completing a paper application on Forms TX, VA, PA, SR, or SE, the applicant should provide the claimant’s name and address in space 4 of the application in the space marked Copyright Claimant(s). If the copyright is co-owned by two or more parties, the applicant should provide the names and addresses of each claimant on space
