Standard Application Help: Claimant
Basic Information
Please identify all known copyright claimant(s) in this work. The author may always be named as a claimant, even if the author has transferred rights in the work to another person or entity.
The claimant may also be a person or entity that has obtained ownership of the copyright in the work. But to be named as a claimant, a person or organization must own all rights in the work; ownership of only some of the rights is not sufficient. In addition, a claimant must own the copyright in all of the authorship covered by this registration.
Transfer of All Rights
A person or organization that is not an author of the work may be named as claimant only if that party obtained ownership of all rights either in writing or by operation of law. A written transfer must be signed by the party transferring the copyright or by that party’s authorized agent. Alternatively, copyright ownership may be transferred by the provisions of a will or by operation of law, for example, by operation of bankruptcy law or state community property law.
Transfer Statement
If the claimant is not an author of the work, you should provide a transfer statement explaining how the claimant acquired ownership of the copyright.
Select the phrase “By written agreement” if the claimant obtained copyright ownership in a written agreement. This includes transfers that occurred “by assignment” or “by contract.”
Select the phrase “By inheritance” if the claimant obtained copyright ownership from a person who is deceased. This includes transfers that occurred “by will” or “by intestate succession.”
If necessary, select “Other” and provide a brief statement explaining how the copyright was transferred. For example, if the transfer occurred by operation of law other than inheritance, select “Other” and briefly describe how the transfer was made, such as “by operation of state community property law”.
Transfer Statement for an Application to Register a Single Serial Issue
If you are registering a serial publication using the application for a “Single Serial Issue,” and if the author has not been named as the claimant, you should select one of the statements listed in the transfer space that explains how the claimant obtained ownership of that work. The options include:
- By written agreement(s) with author(s) named on the application/certificate
- By written agreement(s) with individual contributors not named on the application/certificate
- By written agreement(s) with authors named and contributors not named on the application/certificate
- By written agreement
- Other
In most cases, you should select “By written agreement.” You may select this option if: (1) you intend to register the issue as a whole or you intend to register the entire issue and the individual contributions appearing with that issue (such as articles, photographs, etc.), and (2) the claimant is not the author of the issue as a whole or the individual contributions, and (3) the claimant obtained the copyright through a written agreement.
You may select the first option if you intend to register the issue as a whole and the individual contributions, and if you named all the authors of those contributions in the application.
You may select the second option if you intend to register the issue as a whole and the individual contributions, and if the authors of those contributions have not been named in the application.
You may select the third option if you intend to register the issue as a whole and the individual contributions, and if you named some, but not all, of the authors of those contributions in the application.
If none of these options apply, you may select “other” and provide a more specific statement in the space provided that explains how the claimant obtained ownership of the copyright in the individual contributions and/or the issue as a whole, such as “by assignment,” “by contract,” etc.).