The U.S. Copyright Office is a department of the Library of Congress that registers copyright claims, records ownership transfers, and maintains the public record of U.S. copyrights. Copyrights are property that pass through the estate. For individual authors, copyright lasts for the author's life plus 70 years (17 U.S.C. § 302), so most deceased authors' copyrights are still active. Heirs can record transfers of copyright ownership with the Copyright Office and, in many cases, exercise a statutory right to terminate prior assignments under 17 U.S.C. § 203 or § 304.

Death notification

The Copyright Office does not receive death notifications directly. After a copyright owner dies, the executor or heirs should (1) identify the copyrights the decedent owned by searching the Copyright Office's public records and the decedent's files, (2) record the transfer of copyright ownership to the estate or heir using the Recordation System, and (3) evaluate whether the estate qualifies to exercise termination-of-transfer rights under 17 U.S.C. § 203 or § 304 to reclaim copyrights the author previously assigned.

Deadline: No deadline to record an inherited copyright, but recordation gives constructive notice and protects the heir against later conflicting transfers. Termination of transfer rights have strict statutory windows — see survivor benefits below.

Survivor benefits

The Copyright Office offers 4 benefits for surviving family members.

Recordation of Transfer of Copyright Ownership

Heirs and estates can record the transfer of copyright ownership (by will, intestacy, or estate distribution) with the Copyright Office. Recordation creates a public record of the chain of title, gives constructive notice to third parties, and protects the recorded owner against later conflicting transfers. Submissions are made through the electronic Recordation System or by paper using the Document Cover Sheet (Form DCS).

Amount: Base recordation fee: $95 electronic / $125 paper (includes 1 work). Additional works: $60 per group of 1-50 electronic; $60 per 10 or fewer paper. Additional transfers: $95 each.

Termination of Transfer Right (17 U.S.C. § 203)

For grants of copyright executed by an author on or after January 1, 1978, the author's heirs can terminate the grant during a five-year window beginning 35 years after the grant was executed (or, if the grant covers publication rights, the earlier of 35 years from publication or 40 years from execution). When the author is deceased, the termination interest passes by statute: the widow or widower owns the entire interest unless there are surviving children or grandchildren, in which case they share. If none survive, the author's executor, administrator, personal representative, or trustee may exercise the right.

Amount: Filing fee for Notice of Termination uses standard recordation fees; written notice must be served on the grantee not less than 2 years and not more than 10 years before the effective termination date.

Termination of Pre-1978 Grants (17 U.S.C. § 304(c))

For grants executed by the author or the author's statutory heirs before January 1, 1978 covering a copyright subsisting in its first or renewal term on January 1, 1978, termination may be exercised during a five-year window beginning at the end of 56 years from the date copyright was originally secured. The same hierarchy of statutory heirs applies as under § 203. Notice and recordation requirements mirror § 203.

Search of Copyright Office Records (Records Research and Certification Section)

The Copyright Office can search its records to identify works registered by a deceased person, transfers recorded under the decedent's name, and other documents affecting copyright ownership. The public Copyright Catalog (post-1978) is searchable online at no charge; staff-conducted searches and pre-1978 records require a fee.

Amount: Self-service search of the online Copyright Catalog: free. Staff search report: $200 per hour, 2-hour minimum. Retrieval of paper records: $200 per hour, 1-hour minimum. Fee estimate (credited toward actual service): $200.

When someone dies

Notifying the Copyright Office after a death

5-step process, 6 required documents, and 4 survivor benefits.

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Frequently asked questions

Under 17 U.S.C. § 203(a)(2), the termination interest passes in this order: the widow or widower owns the entire interest unless there are surviving children or grandchildren (in which case the widow/widower owns half and the children/grandchildren share the other half); if no widow, widower, children, or grandchildren survive, the author's executor, administrator, personal representative, or trustee owns the termination interest.

Under 17 U.S.C. § 203, termination may be exercised during a 5-year window that begins 35 years after the grant was executed. If the grant covers the right of publication, the window begins the earlier of 35 years from publication or 40 years from execution. Written notice must be served on the grantee not less than 2 years and not more than 10 years before the effective termination date, and the notice must be recorded with the Copyright Office before that date.

For grants executed by the author or the author's statutory heirs before January 1, 1978 covering a copyright subsisting on January 1, 1978, termination is governed by 17 U.S.C. § 304(c). The 5-year termination window begins at the end of 56 years from the date copyright was originally secured. The same hierarchy of statutory heirs applies, and the same 2-to-10-year advance notice requirement applies.