Which document is typically recorded with the Copyright Office to evidence ownership of the screenplay?

• A. Copyright Certificate for Screenplay
• B. Work-For-Hire Agreement
• C. Short Form Assignment of Rights
• D. Publisher's Release

Answer: (A)

Ownership in a screenplay is shown by recording a transfer of rights with the Copyright Office. The document designed for this purpose is a short-form assignment of rights, which cleanly records that ownership has moved from the author (or previous owner) to the new owner in the public record. This public record of title is what licenses, enforces, and proves who owns the work.

A copyright registration certificate, while it proves that a work is registered and notes authorship, does not itself record a transfer of ownership. It shows status of registration, not who owns the rights. A work-for-hire agreement can affect who owns a work under certain circumstances, but the office-recorded document that evidences ownership transfer is the assignment of rights. A publisher’s release concerns publishing rights rather than the fundamental ownership of the screenplay.