1904 General Policies Concerning Publication
This Section discusses the U.S. Copyright Office’s general practices and procedures for examining published and unpublished works.
Compendium of U.S. Copyright Practices, 3rd Edition
Chapter 100
- 101 The U.S. Copyright Office
- 101.2 Organization of the U.S. Copyright Office
- 101.2 (B) Office of the General Counsel
- 101.2 (C) Office of Policy and International Affairs
- 101.2 (D) Office of Registration Policy and Practice
- 101.2 (E) Office of Public Information and Education
- 101.2 (F) Office of Public Records and Repositories
- 101.2 (G) Copyright Modernization Office
- 101.2 (H) Office of the Chief Financial Officer
- 101.2 (I) Office of the Chief of Operations
Chapter 200
- 201 What This Chapter Covers
- 202 Purposes and Advantages of Registration
- 202.2 Registration Distinguished from Preregistration
- 202.3 Registration Distinguished from Recordation
Chapter 300
- 301 What This Chapter Covers
- 302 The Legal Framework
- 303 Copyrightability Is Determined Based on U.S. Copyright Law
- 304 Eligibility
- 305 The Fixation Requirement
- 306 The Human Authorship Requirement
- 307 Copyrightable Subject Matter
- 308 The Originality Requirement
- 308.2 Creativity
Chapter 400
- 401 What This Chapter Covers
- 402 Who Is the Applicant?
- 403 Who Is the Correspondent?
- 404 Who Is the Claimant?
- 405 Applications Filed by or on Behalf of the Author
- 405.2 Minors
- 405.3 Intellectually Disabled Persons
- 405.4 Prisoners
- 405.5 Deceased Authors
- 405.6 Foreign Authors
Chapter 500
- 501 What This Chapter Covers
- 502 A Copyright Registration Covers a Claim in a Work of Original Authorship
- 503 Identifying the Original Authorship That the Applicant Intends to Register
- 503.1(C) Compilations and Derivative Works
- 503.1(D) Work of Authorship Distinguished from the Medium of Expression
- 503.1(E) Copyrightable Authorship
Chapter 600
- 601 What This Chapter Covers
- 602 General U.S. Copyright Office Examination Practices
- 602.2 Statutorily Required Information in the Application
- 602.3 Requirements for Registration of a Basic Claim
- 602.4 General Standards for Examination of an Application
- 602.4 (B) Scope of the Examination
- 602.4 (C) Factual Determinations and Administrative Notice
- 602.4 (D) No Searches or Comparison of Works
- 602.4 (E) Duplicate Claims
Chapter 700
- 701 What This Chapter Covers
- 702 The Literary Division
- 703 What Is a Literary Work?
- 704 Literary Works Distinguished from Works of the Performing Arts
- 705 Fixation of Literary Works
- 706 Copyrightable Authorship in Literary Works
- 707 Uncopyrightable Material
- 707.2 Research
- 707.3 Book Design
Chapter 800
- 801 What This Chapter Covers
- 801.2 What Is a Work of the Performing Arts?
- 801.3 Fixation of Works of the Performing Arts
- 801.3 (B) Phonorecords
Chapter 900
- 901 What This Chapter Covers
- 902 Visual Arts Division
- 903 What Is a Visual Art Work?
- 903.2 Architectural Works
Chapter 1000
- 1001 What This Chapter Covers
- 1002 Definitions
- 1002.2 Website Content
- 1002.3 Hypertext
- 1002.4 Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
- 1002.5 Cascading Style Sheets
- 1002.6 Databases
Chapter 1100
- 1101 What This Chapter Covers
- 1102 [Reserved]
- 1103 The Unit of Publication Option
- 1103.1 What Is a Unit of Publication?
- 1103.1 (A) The Unit Must Contain Separately Fixed Component Works
- 1103.1 (B) The Unit Must Contain an Actual Copy or Phonorecord of the Works
- 1103.1 (C) The Works Must Be Physically Bundled in the Unit
- 1103.1 (D) The Works Must Be Distributed to the Public in the Unit
- 1103.1 (E) Works That Do Not Qualify as a Unit of Publication
- 1103.2 Eligibility Requirements
- 1103.3 Registration Requirements
- 1103.4 Completing the Application
- 1103.4 (A) Type of Work
- 1103.4 (B) Title
- 1103.4 (C) Publication / Completion
- 1103.4 (D) Authors of the Component Works
- 1103.4 (E) Manufacturer, Publisher, Producer, Packager, or Creator of the Unit of Publication
- 1103.4 (F) Author Created / Nature of Authorship
- 1103.4 (G) Claimants / Transfer Statement
- 1103.4 (H) Limitation of Claim
- 1103.4 (I) Rights and Permissions Information
- 1103.4 (J) Correspondent / Mailing Address for the Certificate of Registration
- 1103.4 (K) Special Handling
- 1103.4 (L) Certification
- 1103.1 What Is a Unit of Publication?
- 1104 The Sound Recording / Recorded Work Option
- 1105 Group Registration
- 1106 Group Registration of Unpublished Works
- 1106.1 Eligibility Requirements
- 1106.1 (A) The Group Must Be Limited to Unpublished Works
- 1106.1 (B) Works That May Be Registered with this Option
- 1106.1 (C) The Number of Works That May Be Included in the Group
- 1106.1 (D) The Works Must Be Registered in the Same Administrative Class
- 1106.1 (E) The Author and Claimant for Each Work Must Be the Same
- 1106.2 Application Requirements
- 1106.3 Filing Fee Requirements
- 1106.4 Deposit Requirements
- 1106.5 Completing the Application: Group Registration of Unpublished Works
- 1106.5 (A) Type of Works
- 1106.5 (B) Titles of the Works
- 1106.5 (C) Year of Completion / Year of Creation
- 1106.5 (D) Authors / Claimants
- 1106.5 (E) Anonymous and Pseudonymous Works
- 1106.5 (F) Works Made for Hire
- 1106.5 (G) Author Created
- 1106.5 (H) Limitation of Claim
- 1106.5 (I) Rights and Permissions Information
- 1106.5 (J) Correspondent / Mailing Address for the Certificate of Registration
- 1106.5 (K) Special Handling
- 1106.5 (L) Certification
- 1106.6 Unpublished Collections Eliminated March 15, 2019
- 1106.1 Eligibility Requirements
- 1107 Group Registration of Serials
- 1107.1 What Is a Serial?
- 1107.2 Eligibility Requirements
- 1107.3 Application Requirements
- 1107.4 Filing Fee Requirements
- 1107.5 Deposit Requirements
- 1107.6 Completing the Application: Group Registration of Serials
- 1107.6 (A) Type of Group
- 1107.6 (B) Identifying the Serial
- 1107.6 (C) International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 1107.6 (D) Nation of First Publication / Author’s Citizenship
- 1107.6 (E) Volume, Number, Issue Date, and Date of Publication
- 1107.6 (F) Author / Claimant
- 1107.6 (G) Rights and Permissions Information
- 1107.6 (H) Correspondent / Mailing Address for the Certificate of Registration
- 1107.6 (I) Special Handling
- 1107.6 (J) Certification
- 1107.7 Scope of Protection for Serial Issues Registered Under the Group Registration Option
- 1108 Group Registration of Newspaper Issues
- 1108.1 What Is a Newspaper?
- 1108.2 Eligibility Requirements
- 1108.3 Application Requirements
- 1108.4 Filing Fee Requirements
- 1108.5 Deposit Requirements
- 1108.6 Completing the Application: Group Registration of Newspaper Issues
- 1108.6 (A) Type of Group
- 1108.6 (B) Identifying the Newspaper
- 1108.6 (C) International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 1108.6 (D) Publication Dates for the Issues in the Group
- 1108.6 (E) Nation of First Publication
- 1108.6 (F) Number of Issues in the Group
- 1108.6 (G) Author / Claimant
- 1108.6 (H) Rights and Permissions Information
- 1108.6 (I) Correspondent / Mailing Address for the Certificate of Registration
- 1108.6 (J) Special Handling
- 1108.6 (K) Certification
- 1108.7 Scope of Protection for Newspaper Issues Registered Under the Group Registration Option
- 1109 Group Registration of Newsletters
- 1109.1 What Is a Newsletter?
- 1109.2 Eligibility Requirements
- 1109.3 Application Requirements
- 1109.4 Filing Fee Requirements
- 1109.5 Deposit Requirements
- 1109.6 Completing the Application: Group Registration of Newsletter Issues
- 1109.6 (A) Type of Group
- 1109.6 (B) Identifying the Newsletter
- 1109.6 (C) International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 1109.6 (D) Publication Dates for the Issues in the Group
- 1109.6 (E) Nation of First Publication
- 1109.6 (F) Number of Issues in the Group
- 1109.6 (G) Author / Claimant
- 1109.6 (H) Rights and Permissions Information
- 1109.6 (I) Correspondent / Mailing Address for the Certificate of Registration
- 1109.6 (J) Special Handling
- 1109.6 (K) Certification
- 1109.7 Scope of Protection for Newsletter Issues Registered Under the Group Registration Option
- 1110 Group Registration for Contributions to Periodicals
- 1110.1 What Is a Contribution to a Periodical?
- 1110.2 Eligibility Requirements
- 1110.3 Application Requirements
- 1110.4 Filing Fee Requirements
- 1110.5 Deposit Requirements
- 1110.6 When May an Application for a Group Registration Be Filed?
- 1110.7 Completing the Application: Group Registration of Contributions to Periodicals
- 1110.7 (A) Type of Group
- 1110.7 (B) Identifying the Works Included within the Group
- 1110.7 (B) (1) Identifying the Contributions
- 1110.7 (B) (2) Identifying the Periodicals
- 1110.7 (C) Identifying the Author
- 1110.7 (D) Identifying the Copyrightable Material that the Author Created
- 1110.7 (E) Identifying the Copyright Claimant
- 1110.7 (F) Rights and Permissions Information
- 1110.7 (G) Correspondent / Mailing Address for the Certificate of Registration
- 1110.7 (H) Special Handling
- 1110.7 (I) Certification
- 1110.8 Contributions That Do Not Satisfy the Group Registration Requirements
- 1111 Group Registration of Short Online Literary Works
- 1111.1 What Is a Literary Work?
- 1111.2 What Is a Short Online Literary Work?
- 1111.3 Eligibility Requirements
- 1111.3 (A) All of the Works Must Be Short Online Literary Works
- 1111.3 (B) The Number of Works That May Be Included in the Group
- 1111.3 (C) The Number of Words in Each Work
- 1111.3 (D) All the Works Must Be First Published Online within Three Consecutive Calendar Months
- 1111.3 (E) The Author and Claimant for Each Work Must Be the Same Individual
- 1111.4 Application Requirements
- 1111.5 Filing Fee Requirements
- 1111.6 Deposit Requirements
- 1111.7 Completing the Application: Group Registration of Short Online Literary Works
- 1111.7 (A) Preparing the List of Titles, File Names, Publication Dates, and Word Counts
- 1111.7 (B) Type of Group
- 1111.7 (C) Title of the Group
- 1111.7 (D) Number of Works in the Group
- 1111.7 (E) Year of Completion
- 1111.7 (F) Earliest / Latest Publication Date
- 1111.7 (G) Nation of First Publication
- 1111.7 (H) File Name for the List
- 1111.7 (I) Titles of the Individual Works
- 1111.7 (J) Authors / Claimants
- 1111.7 (K) Anonymous and Pseudonymous Works
- 1111.7 (L) The Author’s Country of Citizenship or Domicile
- 1111.7 (M) Limitation of Claim
- 1111.7 (N) Rights and Permissions Information
- 1111.7 (O) Correspondent / Mailing Address for the Certificate of Registration
- 1111.7 (P) Special Handling
- 1111.7 (Q) Certification
- 1112 Group Registration of Database Updates and Revisions
- 1112.1 What Is a Database?
- 1112.2 The Scope of a Group Registration for a Database
- 1112.3 The Scope of a Group Registration for a Photographic Database
- 1112.4 Eligibility Requirements
- 1112.5 Application Requirements
- 1112.6 Filing Fee Requirements
- 1112.7 Deposit Requirements
- 1112.8 Completing the Application: Group Registration of Databases
- 1112.8 (A) Space 1: Title
- 1112.8 (B) Space 2: Name of Author / Nature of Authorship
- 1112.8 (C) Space 3 (a): Year in which Creation of This Work Was Completed
- 1112.8 (D) Space 3 (b): Date and Nation of First Publication of This Particular Work
- 1112.8 (E) Space 4: Copyright Claimant (s)
- 1112.8 (F) Spaces 5 & 6: Previous Registration / Derivative Work or Compilation
- 1112.8 (G) Space 8: Certification
- 1112.8 (H) Spaces 7 & 9: Correspondent and Mailing Address for the Certificate
- 1112.9 Effective Date of Registration for a Group of Revisions or Updates to a Database
- 1112.10 Databases That Do Not Satisfy the Group Registration Requirements
- 1113 [Reserved]
- 1114 Group Registration of Photographs
- 1114.1 Eligibility Requirements
- 1114.2 Application Requirements
- 1114.3 Filing Fee Requirements
- 1114.4 Deposit Requirements
- 1114.5 When May an Application for a Group Registration Be Filed?
- 1114.6 Completing the Application: Group Registration of Photographs
- 1114.6 (A) Preparing the Title List
- 1114.6 (B) Type of Group
- 1114.6 (C) Title of the Group
- 1114.6 (D) Title and Publication Information for Each Photograph
- 1114.6 (E) Number of Photographs in the Group
- 1114.6 (F) Year of Completion
- 1114.6 (G) Earliest / Latest Publication Date
- 1114.6 (H) Nation of Publication
- 1114.6 (I) Identifying the Author of the Photographs
- 1114.6 (I) (1) Photos Shot by an Individual Photographer
- 1114.6 (I) (2) Photos Created as Works Made For Hire
- 1114.6 (I) (3) The Author’s Country of Citizenship or Domicile
- 1114.6 (J) Identifying the Copyrightable Material that the Author Created
- 1114.6 (K) Identifying the Copyright Claimant
- 1114.6 (L) Rights and Permissions Information
- 1114.6 (M) Correspondent / Mailing Address for the Certificate of Registration
- 1114.6 (N) Special Handling
- 1114.6 (O) Certification
- 1114.7 Photographs That Do Not Satisfy the Group Registration Requirements for GRUPH or GRPPH
- 1115 [Reserved]
- 1116 Serials, Newspapers, and Newsletters at a Glance
- 1117 Photographs at a Glance
Chapter 1200
- 1201 What This Chapter Covers
- 1202 What Is a Mask Work?
- 1203 Mask Work Protection Distinguished from Copyright Protection
- 1204 Protectable Mask Works
- 1204.2 Originality
- 1204.3 Protectable Expression
- 1204.4 Eligibility Based on Nationality of Owner or Nation of First Commercial Exploitation
- 1204.5 Registration
- 1204.5 (B) Effective Date of Registration
- 1204.5 (C) Benefits of Registration
Chapter 1300
- 1301 What This Chapter Covers
- 1302 Vessel Design Protection Distinguished from Copyright Protection
- 1303 Definitions
- 1303.2 Hull
- 1303.3 Make Public
- 1303.4 Mold
- 1303.5 Original
- 1303.6 Plug
- 1303.7 Useful Article
- 1303.8 Vessel
Chapter 1400
- 1401 What This Chapter Covers
- 1402 Applications
- 1402.2 Statutory Requirements for Applications
- 1402.3 Types of Applications
Chapter 1500
- 1502 Deposit for Registration Distinguished from Mandatory Deposit
- 1503 Deposit for Registration
- 1503.2 Refusal to Register
Chapter 1600
- 1601 What This Chapter Covers
- 1602 What Is Preregistration?
- 1603 Eligibility Requirements
- 1603.1 Works That Are Eligible for Preregistration
- 1603.2 The Work Must Be Copyrightable
- 1603.3 A Portion of the Work Must Be Fixed
- 1603.4 The Work Must Be Unpublished
- 1603.5 The Work Must Be Intended for Commercial Distribution
- 1604 Preregistration Distinguished from Registration
- 1604.2 Uses of Preregistration
Chapter 1700
- 1701 What This Chapter Covers
- 1702 Registration Refused After Examination
- 1703 First Request for Reconsideration
- 1703.2 Review of the First Request for Reconsideration
Chapter 1800
- 1801 What This Chapter Covers
- 1802 Supplementary Registration: Correcting or Amplifying the Information in a Registration
- 1802.2 When May an Application for a Supplementary Registration Be Filed?
- 1802.3 Records That May Be Corrected or Amplified with a Supplementary Registration
- 1802.4 Records That Cannot Be Corrected or Amplified with a Supplementary Registration
- 1802.5 What Type of Information May Be Corrected or Amplified with a Supplementary Registration?
- 1802.6 Supplementary Registration Appropriate
- 1802.6 (B) Change in Name or Address
- 1802.6 (C) Title of the Work
- 1802.6 (D) Author (s) of the Work
- 1802.6 (E) Work Made for Hire
- 1802.6 (F) Copyright Claimant (s)
- 1802.6 (G) Year of Completion
- 1802.6 (H) Citizenship, Domicile, and Nation of First Publication
- 1802.6 (I) Publication Issues
- 1802.6 (J) The Claim to Copyright
Chapter 1900
- 1903 The Significance of Publication
- 1904 General Policies Concerning Publication
- 1904.2 Facts Stated in the Application
- 1904.3 Claim in a Published or Unpublished Work Contradicted by Information Provided Elsewhere, such as in the Registration Materials
Chapter 2000
Chapter 2100
- 2101 What This Chapter Covers
- PART I General Background
- 2102 Copyright Renewal
- PART II THE COPYRIGHT RENEWAL ACT OF 1992
- 2104 Affected Works
- 2105 Registration for the Original Term Is Not Required
- 2106 Renewal Registration Before Expiration of Original Term Is Optional
- 2107 Benefits Secured by Timely Renewal Registration
- 2108 Renewal Registration Is Possible Through Renewal and Extended Terms
- 2109 Benefits of Renewal Term Registration
Chapter 2200
- 2201 What This Chapter Covers
- 2202 Works Exempt From the Notice Requirement
- 2202.2 Post-Berne Works
- 2202.2 (B) Examination Guidelines for Post-Berne Works
Chapter 2300
- 2301 What This Chapter Covers
- 2302 The Recordation Section
- 2303 Recordation Distinguished from Registration
- 2304 What Types of Documents May or Must Be Recorded with the U.S. Copyright Office?
- 2304.1 (C) Designation of Agent to Receive Notifications of Alleged Infringement Under Section 512 (c) of the Copyright Act
Chapter 2400
- 2314 The Visual Arts Registry
- 2314.2 A Work of Visual Art Distinguished from Visual Art Works and Works of the Visual Arts
- 2314.3 The Purpose of the Visual Arts Registry
- 2314.4 Registration Distinguished from the Visual Arts Registry
- 2314.5 Recordation Requirements for a Visual Arts Registry Statement
- 2314.6 Who May Record a Visual Arts Registry Statement?
- 2314.7 When May a Visual Arts Registry Statement Be Recorded?
- 2314.8 How to Record a Visual Arts Registry Statement
- 2314.8 (B) Statements Submitted by or on Behalf of Building Owners
- 2403 Contact Information for RRCS
- 2404 The Public Records Reading Room
- 2405 Limitations on U.S. Copyright Office Services and Information
- 2405.2 Restricted Records
- 2405.3 Limitations on Services
- 2405.4 Delays for Requests Submitted by Mail