Agreement · Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs
Short-form copyright assignment
A writing that transfers copyright ownership in a named work, for 17 U.S.C. § 204(a). The owner of the rights, or the owner's authorised agent, signs. It is not used where the work is a work made for hire.
- Kind
- Agreement. A contract between two or more parties.
- Where it applies
- United States
- AI use
- Yellow You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at
- 22 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 22 October 2026 against the 2 authorities it cites, for United States.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use when an owner of copyright is to convey that ownership in writing. Do not use it for a non-exclusive licence, which this form does not address, or for a work that is in fact a work made for hire. The person who signs for the assignor has to be the owner or the owner's agent.
Used for these tasks
- Draft a short-form copyright assignment and check the Copyright Act 1968 compilation for the writing requirement
- Draft an IP licence or assignment from the term sheet
- Build an IP ownership and encumbrance table from the data room
Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.
How AI may be used
AI may fill the work title, the parties and the consideration from an approved term sheet. The lawyer confirms who owns the rights and that a signed writing, not a work-made-for-hire label, is the right instrument.
AI may
- Fill the work, the parties and the price from the term sheet
- Check that the signature block is the owner's, or the owner's named agent
- Flag a draft that purports to assign a work the file already treats as a work made for hire
AI must not
- Must not decide who the author or the owner is
- Must not add a notary block as if § 204(a) required one
- Must not state the copyright term, or list exclusive rights by a section that has not been read
The lawyer checks
- The signatory is the owner of the rights conveyed or that owner's duly authorised agent
- The work is identified well enough that the writing satisfies § 204(a) for those rights
- A work-made-for-hire analysis has been done first, using Circular 30, and this assignment is not being used to paper over a failed one
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Read the full text
The full text is available after you log in. It is free. When you log in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
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All precedents for Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs · Tasks and AI use in this area