407 Applications Filed by an Owner of One or More – But Less than All – of the Exclusive Rights
Any of the exclusive rights that make up a copyright or any subdivision of those rights can be transferred and owned separately. 17 U.S.C. § 201 (D) (2). A party who owns one or more – but not all – of the rights that initially belonged to an author cannot be named as a copyright claimant. See 37 C.F.R. § 202.3 (A) (3). However, an owner of one or more of the exclusive rights may submit an application to register the copyright in the author’s name. In this situation, the author is considered to be the claimant, and the owner of the exclusive right(s) is considered the applicant. See generally Registration of Copyright: Definition of Claimant, 77 Fed. Reg. 29,257, 29,258-59 (May 17, 2012).