Copyrights - 17 USC Section 205

01/19/04

Sec. 205. Recordation of transfers and other documents

(a) Conditions for Recordation. - Any transfer of copyright
ownership or other document pertaining to a copyright may be
recorded in the Copyright Office if the document filed for
recordation bears the actual signature of the person who executed
it, or if it is accompanied by a sworn or official certification
that it is a true copy of the original, signed document.
(b) Certificate of Recordation. - The Register of Copyrights
shall, upon receipt of a document as provided by subsection (a) and
of the fee provided by section 708, record the document and return
it with a certificate of recordation.
(c) Recordation as Constructive Notice. - Recordation of a
document in the Copyright Office gives all persons constructive
notice of the facts stated in the recorded document, but only if -
(1) the document, or material attached to it, specifically
identifies the work to which it pertains so that, after the
document is indexed by the Register of Copyrights, it would be
revealed by a reasonable search under the title or registration
number of the work; and
(2) registration has been made for the work.
(d) Priority Between Conflicting Transfers. - As between two
conflicting transfers, the one executed first prevails if it is
recorded, in the manner required to give constructive notice under
subsection (c), within one month after its execution in the United
States or within two months after its execution outside the United
States, or at any time before recordation in such manner of the
later transfer. Otherwise the later transfer prevails if recorded
first in such manner, and if taken in good faith, for valuable
consideration or on the basis of a binding promise to pay
royalties, and without notice of the earlier transfer.
(e) Priority Between Conflicting Transfer of Ownership and
Nonexclusive License. - A nonexclusive license, whether recorded or
not, prevails over a conflicting transfer of copyright ownership if
the license is evidenced by a written instrument signed by the
owner of the rights licensed or such owner's duly authorized agent,
and if -
(1) the license was taken before execution of the transfer; or
(2) the license was taken in good faith before recordation of
the transfer and without notice of it.

HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
HOUSE REPORT NO. 94-1476
The recording and priority provisions of section 205 are intended
to clear up a number of uncertainties arising from sections 30 and
31 of the present law [sections 30 and 31 of former title 17] and
to make them more effective and practical in operation. Any
"document pertaining to a copyright" may be recorded under
subsection (a) if it "bears that actual signature of the person who
executed it," or if it is appropriately certified as a true copy.
However, subsection (c) makes clear that the recorded document will
give constructive notice of its contents only if two conditions are
met: (1) the document or attached material specifically identifies
the work to which it pertains so that a reasonable search under the
title or registration number would reveal it, and (2) registration
has been made for the work. Moreover, even though the Register of
Copyrights may be compelled to accept for recordation documents
that on their face appear self-serving or colorable, the Register
should take care that their nature is not concealed from the public
in the Copyright Office's indexing and search reports.
The provisions of subsection (d), requiring recordation of
transfers as a prerequisite to the institution of an infringement
suit, represent a desirable change in the law. The one- and
three-month grace periods provided in subsection (e) are a
reasonable compromise between those who want a longer hiatus and
those who argue that any grace period makes it impossible for a
bona fide transferee to rely on the record at any particular time.
Under subsection (f) of section 205, a nonexclusive license in
writing and signed, whether recorded or not, would be valid against
a later transfer, and would also prevail as against a prior
unrecorded transfer if taken in good faith and without notice.
Objections were raised by motion picture producers, particularly to
the provision allowing unrecorded nonexclusive licenses to prevail
over subsequent transfers, on the ground that a nonexclusive
license can have drastic effects on the value of a copyright. On
the other hand, the impracticalities and burdens that would
accompany any requirement of recordation of nonexclusive licenses
outweigh the limited advantages of a statutory recordation system
for them.
AMENDMENTS
1988 - Subsecs. (d) to (f). Pub. L. 100-568 redesignated subsecs.
(e) and (f) as (d) and (e), respectively, and struck out former
subsec. (d), which read as follows: "No person claiming by virtue
of a transfer to be the owner of copyright or of any exclusive
right under a copyright is entitled to institute an infringement
action under this title until the instrument of transfer under
which such person claims has been recorded in the Copyright Office,
but suit may be instituted after such recordation on a cause of
action that arose before recordation."
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1988 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 100-568 effective Mar. 1, 1989, with any
cause of action arising under this title before such date being
governed by provisions in effect when cause of action arose, see
section 13 of Pub. L. 100-568, set out as a note under section 101
of this title.
RECORDATION OF SHAREWARE
Pub. L. 101-650, title VIII, Sec. 805, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat.
5136, provided that:
"(a) In General. - The Register of Copyrights is authorized, upon
receipt of any document designated as pertaining to computer
shareware and the fee prescribed by section 708 of title 17, United
States Code, to record the document and return it with a
certificate of recordation.
"(b) Maintenance of Records; Publication of Information. - The
Register of Copyrights is authorized to maintain current, separate
records relating to the recordation of documents under subsection
(a), and to compile and publish at periodic intervals information
relating to such recordations. Such publications shall be offered
for sale to the public at prices based on the cost of reproduction
and distribution.
"(c) Deposit of Copies in Library of Congress. - In the case of
public domain computer software, at the election of the person
recording a document under subsection (a), 2 complete copies of the
best edition (as defined in section 101 of title 17, United States
Code) of the computer software as embodied in machine-readable form
may be deposited for the benefit of the Machine-Readable
Collections Reading Room of the Library of Congress.
"(d) Regulations. - The Register of Copyrights is authorized to
establish regulations not inconsistent with law for the
administration of the functions of the Register under this section.
All regulations established by the Register are subject to the
approval of the Librarian of Congress."
REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO COPYRIGHTS AND RECORDATION OF ASSIGNMENTS
OF COPYRIGHTS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS UNDER PREDECESSOR PROVISIONS
Recordation of assignments of copyrights or other instruments
received in the Copyright Office before Jan. 1, 1978, to be made in
accordance with this title as it existed on Dec. 31, 1977, see
section 109 of Pub. L. 94-553, set out as a note under section 410
of this title.

Last modified: April 19, 2006