# Compendium of US Copyright Office Practices (1973)/Chapter 12

Ch. 12
Chapter 12
Assignments and Related Documents
Outline of Topics
Chapter 12. ASSIGNNENTS AND RELATED DOCUMENTS
Part 12.1 IN GENERAL
Where appropriate, the Copyright Office may point out the assignment provisions of the
Part 12.2 TRUE NATURE OF THE DOCUMENT
An assignment of rights in
Part 12.3 FORMAL SUFFICIENCY OF THE DOCUMENT
If several assignors are identified in the body of the document, and spaces have been
The signature need not be legible or include the full name of the assignor, as long as the
One-party documents. A document which necessarily involves only one party (e.g., an affidavit, an abandonment, a disclaimer, etc.) will be indexed under the single name involved; where possible, a
Date not required. While the document need not include copyright data or bibliographic informa­tion, it should contain a reasonably precise identification of the subject matter with which it
".. copyright in ___________
An abbreviated or entirely different title, or a different descriptive phrase, may be
Example. A document purporting to be an assign­ment should contain words to the effect that copy­right is presently being conveyed (e.g., "I,
A letter from an author indicating that "the publisher has agreed to assign the
"In accordance with the terms of a mutual undertaking previously entered into be­
As a rule no attempt is made to verity the facts stated in a document submitted for recordation; titles, registration numbers. authors, dates,
When an obvious error of a material nature is recognised in the ordinary examination of the document, the paper is returned for correction; in such
If a document appears to be an assignment which has been executed abroad, and which does not contain a consular certificate of acknowledgment of the assignor's signature, the document will be ​held and the provisions of section 29 will be called to the attention of the sender.
Recordation of foreign documents which are clearly not assignments will be made without
Part 12.4 DOCUMENTS AMENDING COPYRIGHT OFFICE RECORDS
If executed abroad, it should preferably be accompanied by a consular certificate of
The original certificate of registration should be relinquished to the Copyright
Following recordation of a document intended to correct an error in a copyright registration, an annotation referring to the volume and page
Part 12.5 RECORDATION
In general. The recordation process involves initial examination of documents for formal sufficiency, determination of the recording fee, assigning volume and page numbers, preparation of index cards under the appropriate names, titles, numbers, dates, etc., microfilming, checking the completed microfilm record,
Date of recordation. The date of recordation for a particular document is the date the last necessary element (acceptable document and re­quired fee) is received. When a document is returned to the sender for correction, the date it is returned in corrected form is regarded as the date of recordation. When the fee, or part
--'.'Ferlin Husky Fan Club News," vol. 1, no. J, June, 1957
-"Trapped in the Snack Bar," Installment I
In cases where, despite separate list­ings of the title, only one fee would