Copyright Recordation
Copyright recordation creates a publicly available record of ownership rights and key milestones in the life of a copyright.
Copyright recordation is an important tool for protecting and maintaining your copyrights. Copyright recordation is not the same as registering your copyright. These processes are not interchangeable. Recordation is a means by which other documents pertaining to copyright are filed with the Copyright Office, and such documents can be recorded even if the copyright in the subject work has not been registered with the Copyright Office.
Recordation creates a public record with the U.S. Copyright Office of transfers, termination notices, and other key documents related to the existence, scope, duration, licensing, or ownership of rights under copyright. Just like recording a change of real estate ownership with the local registry of deeds, copyright recordation creates a publicly available record of ownership rights in a copyright and key milestones in the life of a copyright.
Documents that must be recorded with the U.S. Copyright Office include:
Termination notices;
Perfecting security interests in registered works (in some jurisdictions); and
Designations of an agent to receive notices of alleged infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the “DMCA”).
Documents that may be recorded with the U.S. Copyright Office, include, but are not limited to:
Transfers of ownership (including exclusive licenses);
Nonexclusive licenses;
Wills;
Copyright abandonments; and
Visual arts registry statements (which applies to works incorporated into a building).
There are a number of advantages to recording transfers and other documents that are not required to be recorded:
The Copyright Office creates an online public record with pertinent information related to the recordation;
In some cases, recordation provides the public with constructive notice [i.e., the public is deemed to have knowledge of the facts in the recorded document];
Recordation can establish legal priority between conflicting transfers and between nonexclusive licenses and transfers; and
Recordation can limit the innocent infringer defense for works published before March 1, 1989.
Copyright recordation requires an authorized signature or a proper certification; a document that is complete by its own terms (i.e., no missing attachments); and a filing fee. We can assist you with preparing and completing a Document Cover Sheet, as well as a recordation of any of the documents that are eligible for recordation with the Copyright Office.
Contact us to learn more about protecting your copyright assets.