[Beldin]

> When you dedicate the work, you are no longer the holder

I wonder how courts know how to distinguish between "I dedicate this work to..."

- "my wonderful husband"

- "my devoted readers"

- "the revolution in $COUNTRY"

- "the public domain".

Or perhaps there's no distinction and you all owe me copyright fees for those worjs dedicated to me as a devoted reader.

[cormacrelf]

Copyright assignment is what you’re describing, and yes they are able to distinguish, because dedication is not the word for that and more generally people aren’t stupid. Copyright assignment typically has a number of formal requirements to succeed including being in writing and being signed by the assignor. Next time tell the joke about a signed copy :)