by the author.
204. Execution of transfers of copyright ownership.
205. Recordation of transfers and other documents.

Section 201. Ownership of copyright.

(a) Initial ownership.--Copyright in a work protected under this title
vests initially in the author or authors of the work. The authors of a
joint work are co-owners of copyright in the work.

(b) Works Made for Hire.--In the case of a work made for hire, the
employer or other person for whom the work was prepared is considered
the author for purposes of this title, and, unless the parties have
expressly agreed otherwise in a written instrument signed by them, owns
all of the rights comprised in the copyright.

(c) Contributions to Collective Works.--Copyright in each separate
contribution to a collective work is distinct from copyright in the
collective work as a whole, and vests initially in the author of the
contribution. In the absence of an express transfer of the copyright
or of any rights under it, the owner of copyright in the collective
work is presumed to have acquired only the privilege of reproducing and
distributing the contribution as part of that particular collective
work, any revision of that collective work, and any later collective
work in the same series.

(d) Transfer of Ownership.--

(1) The ownership of a copyright may be transferred in whole or in part
by any means of conveyance or by operation of law, and may be
bequeathed by will or pass as personal property by the applicable laws
of intestate succession.

(2) Any of the exclusive rights comprised in a copyright, including any
subdivision of any of the rights specified by section 106, may be
transferred as provided by clause (1) and owned separately. The owner
of any particular exclusive right is entitled, to the extent of that
right, to all of the protection and remedies accorded to the copyright
owner by this title.

(e) Involuntary Transfer.--When an individual author's ownership of a
copyright, or of any of the exclusive rights under a copyright, has not
previously been transferred voluntarily by that individual author, no
action by any governmental body or other official or organization
purporting to seize, expropriate, transfer, or exercise rights of
ownership with respect to the copyright, or any of the exclusive rights
under a copyright, shall be give effect under this title except as
provided under Title 11.

Section 202. Ownership of copyright as disti