620.10 (D) (1) (A) Inheritance
The registration specialist may accept an application without a transfer statement if the author is deceased and it is clear that the claimant is the author’s heir.
Example:
• An application is submitted for a pictorial work. The applicant states that the author is deceased and names the claimant as “Joanne Chan (heiress).” The registration specialist may register the claim, even if the applicant fails to provide a transfer statement.
• An application names Cotton Wilson as the author of a play and states that the author died in 2008. The “Estate of Cotton Wilson” is named as the copyright claimant. The registration specialist may register the claim, even if the applicant fails to provide a transfer statement.