# Compendium of US Copyright Office Practices (1973)/Chapter 4

Chapter 4
Notice
Outline of Topics
Chapter 4. NOTICE
Part 4.1 WHEN REQUIRED
If the Office is informed that the great bulk at the published copies of a work bore an appropriate notice, but that the notice was accidentally omitted from a very few of the published copies, ​registration may be made. In such cases, if the deposit copies do not bear the notice, copies with the notice will be requested.
Part 4.2 FORM OF NOTICE
Estate, executor, or admnistrator. A notice in the name of the estate of a deceased person, or in the name of the executor or administrator of an estate as such, may be accepted for registration in the same
If this is the first publication of the work, but an unpublished version has been registered in another name, registration will be made in the name in the notice, whether or not there is new matter. The applicant will be notified of the desirability of recording his assign­ment and (unless there is new matter) warned about the substitution of his name in the notice before recordation. The same practice is followed with respect to the American
If this is the first publication of the work, and the has been no previous unpublished
If there is no new matter, and if the assignment is not recorded, registration
In determining whether the designation in the notice can be considered the claimant's."name," the most important factor is whether the designation is capable of identifying the claimant to the public generally as distinguished from the trade itself or from the specialized public in the trade. However, where it does not fly in the face of common sense, the applicant's ​assertion as to use of the designation as a trade name will generally be ac­cepted without further question. (See topic 4.2.3.II.d.5, below)
Where the claimant is not a corporation, the following are examples of acceptable
Dwight D. Eisenhower, pseudonym. of
In general. Where the application and notice appear to name different persons, the Office will write for an explanation. (The explanation may show, for example, that the name in the notice is the pseudonym ​or trade name of the applicants see the preceding topics 4.2.3, I and II). If they are actually dif­ferent persons whose claims would conflict, the application will be rejected. (See topic 4.2.3.I.e.)
In order to claim. the exemptions of ?9(C), pursuant to the U.C.C.,the year date is required in the
the present copies contain copyrightable
If unpublished registration (or foreign pub­lication for an English-language book reg­istered ad interim) took place within the year immediately preceding the year in the notice, and if there is no reason to suppose
The three elements of the notice ("Copyright" or "Copr., It or the symbol ©, the name of the claimant, ​and the year date). should be given together as a single continuous statement.
Where the separated name is the only name appearing on the same page as the rest of
Where two separated names appear on the same page and either might be the logical claimant
Where one of two equally separated names is a logical claimant (e.g., the author), and the other is identified as someone not likely to ​be the claimant (e. g., "Printed by the Wayward Press"), registration may be made in the first name, but not in the second name.
The presence of other matter between the ele­ments of the copyright notice will not preclude acceptance of the notice as long as the elements are identifiable together. For example, the Office will accept a notice such as:
Closet Caddy Trade Mark Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Copyright 1948. Pat. Pending
The separation of the elements of the notice by a line drawn between them will not preclude acceptance of the notice. For example, the Office will accept a notice such as:
Copyright 1953 Standard Pulpwood Co.
It an unlimited notice appears on the title page of the book itself but the book as such contains no new ​matter whatsoever, the fact that the dust jacket contains copyrightable material would not justify registration for the book as a whole.
A notice on any page of a periodical that may reasonably be considered a title page may be accepted. The page should contain the title ​displayed prominently and the number or date of the particular issue. The rules stated in topic 4.3.1, II 'as to what may be a title page in a book apply generally to periodicals.
A page in a periodical preceded by a number of pages containing advertisements, publishing in­
A notice on the first page of a periodical is acceptable, whether the material on that page
Any of several pages might be considered the "first page of text" of a periodical, e.g., the
For purposes of registration, the Copyright Office will accept a notice appearing in the selvage or on the reverse side ot the material at frequent and regular intervals. For example, in the case of material printed from plates or cylinders on rotary presses, a notice appearing ​at intervals representing each revolution of the plate is acceptable.
Part 4.4 MISCELLANEOUS
A notice which the Office is told is on the margin or back of a painting but which is