Copyright Office Compendium

The U.S. Copyright Office Compendium is intended for use primarily by Copyright Office staff members, but may also be used as a guide by creators, licensees, applicants, lawyers, academics, the public, and occasionally, by the courts. In contrast to the Copyright Act or Copyright Office regulations, the Compendium doesn’t contain the force of law. However, sometimes a court may defer to the Copyright Office Compendium on an issue that is not specifically addressed by the Copyright Act or Copyright Office regulations.

The Compendium, which can be found below, is now in its third edition.

Introduction 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, particularly if the work contains multiple forms of authorship, if it was created by multiple authors, if the authorship is owned by multiple copyright owners, or if the applicant intents to register only a portion of the authorship that appears int eh work. In addition, this Chapter assists copyright owners, courts, and the general public in understanding the scope of a registered copyright claim.

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.

Chapter 800 Works of the Performing Arts

This Chapter covers issues related to the examination and registration of works of the performing arts, and the legal standards for the copyrightability and registrability of such works.

Chapter 900 Visual Art Works

This Chapter covers issues related to the examination and registration of visual art works.

Chapter 1000 Websites and Website Content

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

Chapter 1100 Registration for Multiple Works

As a general rule, a registration covers and individual work, and an applicant should prepare a separate application, filing fee, and deposit for each work that is submitted for registration.

Chapter 1200 Mask Works

This Chapter covers issues related to the examination and registration of mask works fixed in semiconductor chip products (referred to as “mask works”).

Chapter 1300 Vessel Designs

This Chapter provides information on the U.S. Copyright Office’s practices and procedures for examining and registering claims to vessel designs and for recording documents related to them.

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.

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 while they are preparing their works for commercial release. 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.

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 applies to unpublished works, regardless of when they were created, and to published works that were first published on or after January 1, 1978. This Chapter also discusses Form GATT, which may be used to register a restored work that is eligible for copyright protection under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act.

Chapter 2100 Renewal Registration

This Chapter covers renewal registration of works that fall under the provisions of the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992, i.e., works that secured copyright by registration or publication between 1964 and 1977, inclusive.

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.

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.