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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    1

    Default Pseudonyms on Copyright Application

    Recently a threat of legal action over copyright infringement has been made against my website which provides information on a particular organization.

    It is noted that the application forms for the works in question, under the section author's name, are credited to the author's pseudonym followed by (AKA legal name). Under the section 'pseudonymous' work the 'no' box was ticked.

    Looking in the US copyright catalogue it does appear that the authors name is the pseudonym, followed by (alias, AKA, legal name).

    Three recent applications for other copyrighted works by the same organization, refer to the legal name followed by the alias (AKA pseudonym). Later applications seem to have corrected this error.

    I am curious as to whether these earlier applications could be construed as illegitimate.

    Further:

    The organization has not provided evidence that the author has given ownership. There is no signature. The author has not been on the board of directors for almost ten years. We have no way, at this point, of knowing if the author is alive or that they have signed over the works.

    Many other works have not been claimed which suggests that a copyright can not be otained.

    Other works are being claimed without proof of ownership and some applications are allegedly in the process of being made, while others have no suggestion that a copyright document will ever be produced.

    It is questionable as to whether the copyright is legitimate for any of the works.

    Finally some of the works are copyrighted as a series where the names of the individual parts do not show up on the catalogue search. The only evidence provided that these works belong to the series is a scanned document from the organization. I have no way of knowing whether this document is genuine and some works have even been added to the bottom of an attachment based on a phone call to the copyright office. It makes me somewhat skeptical.

    I'm wondering whether anyone could offer a tip it would be much appreciated.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Toledo, OH
    Posts
    16,307

    Default Re: Pseudonyms on Copyright Application

    It is questionable as to whether the copyright is legitimate for any of the works.
    No. It may be questionable as to whether whoever is suing you owns the copyrights now, but there is none as to whether the copyrights themselves are legitimate.

    Copyright automatically attaches as soon as something is fixed into tangible form. When the author wrote it down, it was automatically copyrighted. You'll want to give Copyright.gov a thorough reading.


    I'm wondering whether anyone could offer a tip it would be much appreciated.
    Yes. Get an attorney, because you are in for a fight.

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