Extract Fillable Fields Legal New Mexico Copyright Assignment Forms For Free

Records of copyright registrations and recorded documents are available to the public to identify the author(s) and copyright owner(s) of a work. The public record will also provide information about an agent who can be contacted to license the registered work and to grant permission to use it, where applicable.

Recording a transfer of copyright ownership or other document pertaining to a copyright with the Copyright Office under 17 U.S.C. § 205 is voluntary.

The U.S. Copyright Office maintains records of registered works by author and title, some of which may be searched online. More information can be found in the Copyright Office Circular 22 – How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work, or by calling the Copyright Office at (202) 707-9100.

Notaries are state-appointed officials who verify the identity of the person signing the document and ensure that they're signing it willingly. Notarized letters are often required for legal or official purposes, such as proving residency or giving someone permission to act on your behalf.

A transfer of copyright rights is usually either an assignment or a license. An assignment of copyright rights is like the sale of personal property. The original owner sells its rights to a third party, and can no longer exercise control over how the third party uses those rights.

The assignment must be done in writing to be valid. Although notarization isn't required, it's a good idea to have someone witness the assignor and assignee signing and dating the agreement. Transfer of ownership usually involves monetary exchange, although that's not a requirement.

In simplest terms, licensing is akin to rental, whereas an assignment operates as an outright sale. A copyright or patent holder who has assigned his rights retains no interest in the intellectual property, just as a person who sells a car no longer has a legal interest in that vehicle.

You can transfer any or all of these rights as part of a copyright sale. A copyright assignment is the transfer of copyright ownership rights from one party to another. This transfer is not valid unless it is in writing and signed by the owner or its authorized agent.

Though the agreement is a legal document, it does not need to be notarized. However, obtaining notarization for the signatures provides added protection, limiting the risk of a party later claiming a signature was not valid.