The procedures developed for the registration of copyright claims for restored works must both balance the needs of applicants for copyright registration, reliance parties, the public, and the Copyright Office and also establish a system that will be feasible administratively and elicit necessary information.  As indicated in our final regulations, these new procedures apply only to works restored under the URAA and NAFTA; they thus have no precedential effect on other filings.

3.  Claimant for Registration

Mr. Patry noted that the applicable statutory language relating to the filing of NIEs permits the ``owners of restored copyright or the owner of an exclusive right therein’’ to file a NIE, while the URAA statutory language covering registration indicates that ``owners of restored copyrights’’ may apply for copyright registration.  He asserted the statute’s failure to mention the owner of an exclusive right in connection with registration means that only an author may file a registration.  Comment 2, at 1-2.

The Office agrees that the restored copyright vests initially in the author as determined by the law of the source country of the work.  A work, however, is registered in the name of a claimant. 17 U.S.C. 409. ``Claimant’’ is a term of art defined in existing Copyright Office regulations, as either the author of a work or a person or organization that has obtained ownership of all rights under the copyright initially belonging to the author. 37 CFR 202.3(a)(3).  Thus, an owner of only an exclusive right would not be permitted to file an application in his or her own name as the copyright claimant, although he or she could submit an application.  While the URAA authorizes the Office to adopt regulations permitting owners of restored copyrights to file for registration of the restored copyright, there is nothing in the URAA to suggest that parties who register a restored work are any different from those under existing copyright law and regulations.  Moreover, it seems essential to retain the concept of claimant since authors may no longer be alive.

4.  Foreign Law

The AAP stated that since URAA registrations may create legal presumptions as to the validity of the copyright and the facts stated on the registration certificate, the Office should question an applicant’s determination of foreign law issues.  Comment 7, at 15.  Mr. Karp asserted that since foreign law questions will arise with respect to many issues related to rights restored, including initial ownership, the Office should accept multiple NIEs or registrations for the same work.  Comment 8, at 2.