Copyright Office Compendium

Introduction

The Introduction provides a general overview of the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition.

Chapter 100

U.S. Copyright Office and the Copyright Law: General Background

This Chapter provides a general overview of U.S. copyright law and the U.S. Copyright Office.

Chapter 200

Overview of the Registration Process

This Chapter provides a general overview of the copyright registration system and the practices and procedures for submitting an application to register a work created or first published on or after January 1, 1978.

Chapter 300

Copyrightable Authorship: What Can Be Registered

This Chapter discusses the U.S. Copyright Office’s practices and procedures for evaluating copyrightable authorship

Chapter 400

Who May File an Application

This Chapter provides general information on who may and may not submit an application to register a copyright claim.

Chapter 500

Identifying the Work(s) Covered by a Registration

This Chapter provides guidance on how to identify the work that the applicant intends to register with the U.S. Copyright Office. It explains how to identify the copyrightable authorship that can be submitted for registration and how to describe the claim to copyright in that authorship. This Chapter assists copyright owners, courts, and the general public in understanding the scope of a registered copyright claim. It also provides a general overview of certain forms of authorship and ownership that are recognized under the copyright law, including joint works, works made for hire, derivative works, compilations, and collective works.

Chapter 600

Examination Practices

This Chapter sets forth the U.S. Copyright Office’s practices and procedures for examining applications for registration of basic claims.

Chapter 700

Literary Works

This Chapter discusses the U.S. Copyright Office’s practices and procedures for the examination and registration of literary works, including serials, computer programs, databases, and other types of works.

Chapter 800

Works of the Performing Arts

This Chapter discusses the U.S. Copyright Office’s practices and procedures for the examination and registration of works of the performing arts, including musical works, sound recordings, dramatic works, choreographic works, pantomimes, audiovisual works, and motion pictures.

Chapter 900

Visual Art Works

This Chapter discusses the U.S. Copyright Office’s practices and procedures for the examination and registration of visual art works, including architectural works and a wide variety of pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, including jewelry, photographs, catalogs, maps, technical drawings, and other types of works.

Chapter 1000

Websites and Website Content

This Chapter discusses the U.S. Copyright Office’s practices and procedures for the examination and registration of copyrightable content contained on websites.

Chapter 1100

Registration for Multiple Works

This Chapter discusses the options for registering multiple works with the U.S. Copyright Office with one application, one filing fee, and one set of deposit copies.

Chapter 1200

Mask Works

This Chapter discusses the U.S. Copyright Office’s practices and procedures for the examination and registration of mask works fixed in semiconductor chip products.

Chapter 1300

Vessel Designs

This Chapter discusses the U.S. Copyright Office’s practices and procedures for the examination and registration of claims in vessel designs.

Chapter 1400

Applications and Filing Fees

This Chapter provides a general overview of the types of applications that may be used to register a work of authorship created or first published on or after January 1, 1978. It also discusses the filing fees for applying to register a work.

Chapter 1500

Deposits

This Chapter discusses the deposit requirements for a variety of creative works. It discusses the deposit requirements for copyright registration, and it discusses the mandatory deposit requirement (i.e., the deposit to the Library of Congress that is required of all works that are published in the United States).

Chapter 1600

Preregistration

This Chapter provides information on the U.S. Copyright Office’s practices and procedures for preregistration. Preregistration provides certain copyright owners with the ability to sue for infringement and seek statutory damages and attorney’s fees in cases where the work was infringed before the copyright owner completed the work and released it to the public. The vast majority of works are not eligible for this procedure.

Chapter 1700

Administrative Appeals

This Chapter discusses the process for appealing a refusal to register a copyright claim within the U.S. Copyright Office.

Chapter 1800

Post-Registration Procedures

This Chapter sets forth the practices and procedures for modifying the registration record for a claim after the U.S. Copyright Office has issued a certificate of registration. The topics discussed in this Chapter include correcting or amplifying the information in a copyright registration, cancelling a copyright registration, and asserting an adverse claim to copyright.

Chapter 1900

Publication

This Chapter provides a definition and discussion of publication for works created or first published on or after January 1, 1978.

Chapter 2000

Foreign Works: Eligibility and GATT Registration

This Chapter explains when authors of foreign works may apply to register their works with the U.S. Copyright Office. This Chapter also discusses Form GATT, which is available for foreign “restored” works that are eligible for copyright protection under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA).

Chapter 2100

Renewal Registration

This Chapter discusses the practices and procedures for seeking a renewal registration for works that secured copyright by registration or publication between 1964 and 1977.

Chapter 2200

Notice of Copyright

This Chapter discusses the notice requirements for U.S. works published in copies and phonorecords in the United States between January 1, 1978 and February 28, 1989, when copyright notice was required for published works.

Chapter 2300

Recordation

This Chapter discusses the practices and procedures for recording the following types of documents with the U.S. Copyright Office, including transfers of copyright ownership, notices of termination, and other documents pertaining to copyright.

Chapter 2400

U.S. Copyright Office Services

This Chapter discusses the practices and procedures for searching, retrieving, viewing, inspecting, copying, and certifying certain public records that are maintained by the U.S. Copyright Office. It also discusses other services provided by the Office, such as issuing additional certificates of registration and arranging for the full-term retention of deposits.

Glossary

This Glossary provides brief definitions for certain terms as they apply to registration, recordation, and other services provided by the U.S. Copyright Office.

Table of Authorities

This Table of Authorities lists the cases, statutory provisions, and other legal authorities cited in the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition and the relevant section where each citation may be found.