Page:Compendium of US Copyright Office Practices (1973).pdf/445

S-90 However, if the relationship between the two names is not disclosed on the appli­cation, the name of the copyright claimant given in the application must agree with the name appearing in the copyright notice. Ex­ample: in the case of a work copyrighted by Mark Twain, the application will not be questioned merely because it names Mark Twain as copyright claimant and author, since the author was as well known under his pseudonym as by his real name, Samuel Clemens.

b) Where the pseudonym or other fictitious name is incapable of identifying the copyright proprietor to the public, the claim will be rejected. Examples: John Doe, pseudonym of ________; or, Any Man, U.S.A., pseudonym of ______;

c) In all other cases where we have knowledge that the name in the copyright notice is pseudonymous or fictitious, we will inquire whether the name in the notice is capable of identifying the copy­right proprietor to the public. Our letter should inform the applicant of the desirability of using the owner's real name in the notice since the use of a pseudonymous or fictitious name name may create some doubt affecting the validity of the copyright claim. Ordinarily, we will not question an appli­cant's assertion that the public associates the pseudonym or other fictitious name with the true copyright owner.

3) When the copyright notice contains a pseudonym or other fictitious name, except for those cases described under 2) a) above, the relationship between the pseudonym or the fictitious name and the recognized name of the person or organi­zation legally entitled to claim the copyright should be disclosed on the application. The disclosure should be explicit, and may