1300-23
1317
Renewal claimants: proprietors. (cont'd)
1317.03
Posthumous works. (cont'd)
1317.03(b)
Proper claimant. Where the work is "posthumous" within the meaning of section 304(a) of the copyright law, the appropriate claimant is the proprietor.
1)
Where the applicant asserts that there was neither a contract for exploitation nor an assignment of copyright during the author's lifetime, and the work was unpublished on the date of the author's death, the Copyright Office will make registration in the name of the proprietor.
2)
Where the applicant asserts that during the author's lifetime there was a contract for exploitation but no copyright assignment, it is unclear whether or not the work is "posthumous." See S. Rep. No. 94-473, 94th Cong., 1st Sess. 123 (1975). Therefore, registration will be made in the name of the author's widow, widower, children, executor, or next of kin and also in the name of the proprietor, provided separate applications and fees are submitted.
3)
Where the applicant asserts that there was an assignment of the copyright during the author's lifetime, the work is not considered "posthumous," and the Copyright Office will make the renewal registration in the name of the author's widow, widower, children, executor, or next of kin. Registration will not be made in the name of the proprietor.
4)
Where the proprietor-applicant asserts that the work is "posthumous" only because the work was first published after the author's death, the Copyright Office will inquire whether during the author's lifetime there was a copyright assignment or other contract for exploitation of the work.
[1984]
