1802.1 Who May File an Application for a Supplementary Registration?
The following parties may correct or amplify the information in a registration record:
• An author of the work.
• Any other party who is entitled to be named as a copyright claimant (i.e., a copyright owner who owns all of the rights that initially belonged to the author).
• An owner of one or more – but less than all – of the exclusive rights in the work.
• A duly authorized agent of any of the foregoing parties.
37 C.F.R. § 202.6 (C). No other party may file an application for supplementary registration.
If there is no clear relationship between the applicant and the parties named in the basic registration, the Office may ask the applicant to submit a sworn declaration or other evidence demonstrating that the applicant is an author of the work, a party who is entitled to be named as a copyright claimant, an owner of one or more of the exclusive rights in the work, or an authorized agent of one of the foregoing parties. If the applicant’s claim appears to be implausible, the Office may decline to issue a supplementary registration, and if appropriate, may suggest that the applicant assert an adverse claim by submitting a new application for a new basic registration.
If the application for supplementary registration is approved, the Office will cross- reference the records for the supplementary registration and the basic registration. Specifically, the Office will place a note in the public record for the basic registration that identifies the registration number and the effective date of registration for the supplementary registration. In addition, the Office will place a note in the public record for the supplementary registration that identifies the registration number and the year of registration for the basic registration. 37 C.F.R. § 202.6 (F) (1). The cross-references are intended to notify any person who searches the Office’s records that the Office has issued a supplementary registration that may contain additional information pertaining to the basic registration, and that the records for both the basic registration and the supplementary registration should be consulted. See Supplementary Registration, 81 Fed. Reg. 86,656, 86,660 & n.26 (Dec. 1, 2016).