§903 Ownership, transfer, licensing, and recordation

Summary

Owning a mask work gives you the exclusive rights to it. You can transfer all those rights or license some of them by a written document signed by you or your authorized agent. Rights can also pass by law, by will, or under the rules for inheritance. Any document about a mask work can be filed with the Copyright Office if it has the actual signature or a sworn statement saying it is a true copy. The Register will record it after receiving the document and the fee under section 908(d) and will return it with a certificate. Recording tells everyone about the transfer. If two people make conflicting transfers, a later transfer that was paid for and made without knowing about the earlier one wins, unless the first transfer is recorded within three months after it was signed, and in no case later than the day before the later transfer. Works made by a U.S. Government officer or employee as part of their job are not protected here, but the Government can still receive and hold rights if they are transferred to it.