American Guild of Authors and Composers, copyright renewal notices, 1964-1965

Series III is made up primarily of some of Mercer's surviving business records and legal documents, some of which were apparently assembled by his estate after his death. Although most of the records originated from the American Guild of Authors and Composers (AGAC, formerly the Songwriters' Protective Association, or SPA) and the United States Copyright Office, about a third of the records are from other sources. Lists of Mercer compositions that were compiled at various times are filed here, under the heading "Compositions by Mercer, lists"; correspondence and contracts stemming from Mercer's association with Paul Whiteman and RKO during 1935, legal documents relating to copyright to the song "Laura," 1975-circa 1977, and various contracts and documents relating to ownership and transfer of copyrights, tunes, texts, royalties, etc. make up the remainder of the series.

Additional correspondence concerning some of Mercer's business activities can be found in Series II, filed chronologically; the folders in Series II for the middle to late 1970s in particular contain more correspondence relating to copyright of "Laura."

The folders in Series III are arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material; copyright renewal notices and certificates of copyright renewal are arranged chronologically, while copyright registration forms are arranged alphabetically by title of composition.