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Title 17, CopyrightsRelease 119-110

§1320 Ownership and Transfer

Title 17 › CHAPTER 13 — PROTECTION OF ORIGINAL DESIGNS › § 1320

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Says who owns a protected design and how that ownership can move. The owner is the designer, the designer’s heirs or legal representative, the employer if the design was made in regular employment, or anyone the owner has transferred the rights to. Ownership of a registered design (or one with a registration application) can be transferred in writing signed by the owner or left by will. A sworn statement under section 1312 counts as initial proof of such a transfer. To protect the transfer from later buyers or lenders, it must be recorded in the Office of the Administrator within 3 months after it is signed or before that later purchase or mortgage.

Full Legal Text

Title 17, §1320

Copyrights, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Property Right in Design.—
The property right in a design subject to protection under this chapter shall vest in the designer, the legal representatives of a deceased designer or of one under legal incapacity, the employer for whom the designer created the design in the case of a design made within the regular scope of the designer’s employment, or a person to whom the rights of the designer or of such employer have been transferred. The person in whom the property right is vested shall be considered the owner of the design.
(b)Transfer of Property Right.—
The property right in a registered design, or a design for which an application for registration has been or may be filed, may be assigned, granted, conveyed, or mortgaged by an instrument in writing, signed by the owner, or may be bequeathed by will.
(c)Oath or Acknowledgment of Transfer.—
An oath or acknowledgment under section 1312 shall be prima facie evidence of the execution of an assignment, grant, conveyance, or mortgage under subsection (b).
(d)Recordation of Transfer.—
An assignment, grant, conveyance, or mortgage under subsection (b) shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee for a valuable consideration, unless it is recorded in the Office of the Administrator within 3 months after its date of execution or before the date of such subsequent purchase or mortgage.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1999—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 106–44 substituted “Acknowledgment” for “Acknowledgement” in heading.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

17 U.S.C. § 1320

Title 17, Copyrights

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110