copyright claimant. In the following examples, the registration specialist would accept an application that names “John Doe” or “John Doe Company” as the copyright claimant, but would ask for permission to remove the name of the party with only a future interest from the Name of Claimant field/space.
Examples:
- “John Doe, or upon his death, Mary Doe.”
- “John Doe, and by will, Mary Doe.”
- “John Doe, and after ten years, Sam Doe.”
- “John Doe, or if she survives, Mary Doe.”
- “John Doe Company or, should its corporate headquarters move to Iowa, Howard Doe Company.”
619.13(Q) Deceased Individual or Defunct Entity Named as a Claimant
As a general rule, the claimant named in the application must be an individual or legal entity capable of owning the copyright in the work. If it appears that the claimant died or ceased to exist before the application was received, the registration specialist may communicate with the applicant to request the identity of the current owner of the copyright.
If the author is the only party who is eligible to be named as the copyright claimant, and if the author is deceased or a defunct organization, the U.S. Copyright Office will accept an application that names the author as the copyright claimant. Likewise, the Office will accept an application that names a claimant who owns all of the rights that initially belonged to a deceased author, such as the author’s estate, devisee, or heir.
619.13(R) Identifying the Claimant by Referring to Other Records
The claimant’s name and address should be clearly identified in the Name of Claimant field/space. If the claimant can be identified only by referring to documents or records that have not been submitted with the registration materials, the registration specialist will communicate with the applicant.
Example:
- An application for a real estate map names the claimant as “Owner of Plat B, Square 464 on page 844 of Record Book 501, Office of the Recorder of Deeds, Mexia, Texas.” The registration specialist will ask the applicant to provide the claimant’s full name and address.
619.13(S) Name of Claimant Unknown
The registration specialist will communicate with the applicant if the applicant states that the claimant is “unknown” or otherwise fails to identify the claimant by name, and
