While marginalized and underrepresented groups have made significant creative contributions in the United States, these groups have faced barriers to reaping the benefits of their contributions. Copyright protection and copyright registration are vital for empowering creators to own their works and make a living from their creativity. Participation in the copyright system and understanding the rights afforded under copyright law and are important first steps.
Through the Initiative to Promote Diversity in Copyright (IPDC program), the Copyright Alliance is bringing together volunteers and sponsors from across the copyright community to encourage and support participation of Black creators, Indigenous creators, and creators of color (BIPOC creators) in the copyright system. BIPOC creators can apply to the program and, if eligible, will work with IPDC program volunteers to file their copyright registration applications with the U.S. Copyright Office at no cost to the creator. The goal is to educate program participants on the benefits of copyright registration and empower them to be able to register their own works going forward.
Important
The IPDC program is designed for participants to register one work per IPDC application. However, where the Copyright Office allows groups of works such as photographs, blogs, or music on an album to be registered together in one copyright registration application, applicants can submit an IPDC application to cover a group of works. Visit our FAQ webpage to learn more about group registrations. Participants may participate in the IPDC program a maximum of three times (meaning the program will pay for no more than three copyright registration applications per participant). An applicant who has already had 3 registration applications submitted through the program is ineligible to participate again.