802.4 Fixation of Musical Works

Compendium of U.S. Copyright Practices, 3rd Edition

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Chapter 100

Chapter 200

Chapter 300

Chapter 400

Chapter 500

Chapter 600

601 What This Chapter Covers
602 General U.S. Copyright Office Examination Practices
603 Variances
- 603.1 Immaterial Variances
- 603.2 Material Variances
604 Annotations
605 Communications Between the Applicant and the Registration Specialist
606 Warnings
607 Registration Made Under the Rule of Doubt
608 Refusal to Register
609 Identifying the Work That the Applicant Intends to Register
610 Title of the Work
611 Year of Completion / Year in Which Creation of This Work Was Completed
- 611.1 Completing the Application: Year of Completion / Year in Which Creation of this Work Was Completed
  - 611.1 (A) Year of Completion for an Unpublished Work Created Over a Period of Time
  - 611.1 (B) Year of Completion for Multiple Versions of the Same Work
- 611.2 Examination Guidelines: Year of Completion / Year in Which Creation of this Work Was Completed
612 Date of Publication
613 Name of Author (s)
614 Works Made for Hire
- 614.1 Completing the Application: Works Made for Hire
- 614.2 Examination Guidelines: Works Made for Hire
  - 614.2 (A) Identifying the Work as a Work Made for Hire
  - 614.2 (B) Identifying the Author of a Work Made for Hire
    
    614.2 (B) (1) Was the Work Created by an Employee Acting within the Scope of His or Her Duties?
    
    614.2 (B) (2) Was the Work Specially Ordered or Commissioned as a Work Made for Hire?
    
    614.2 (B) (3) Naming the Employee or the Individual Who Actually Created the Work as the Author of a Work Made for Hire
    
    614.2 (B) (4) Volunteer Created Work Made for Hire
    
    614.2 (B) (5) Organization Named as the Author of a Work Made for Hire
    
    614.2 (B) (6) Individual Named as Author of a Work Made for Hire
    
    614.2 (B) (7) Individual and Incorporated Organization Named Together as the Authors of a Work Made for Hire
    
    614.2 (B) (8) Individual and Unincorporated Organization Named Together as the Authors of a Work Made for Hire
615 Anonymous and Pseudonymous Works
616 Year of Author’s Birth and Death
617 Citizenship and Domicile of the Author
618 Author Created / Nature of Authorship
619 Name of Claimant
620 Transfer Statement
621 Limitation of Claim
622 Rights and Permissions Information / Correspondent / Mail Certificate
623 Special Handling
624 Certification
625 Registration Decision Date and Effective Date of Registration

Chapter 700

Chapter 800

Chapter 900

Chapter 1000

Chapter 1100

Chapter 1200

Chapter 1300

Chapter 1400

Chapter 1500

Chapter 1600

Chapter 1700

Chapter 1800

Chapter 1900

Chapter 2000

Chapter 2100

Chapter 2200

Chapter 2300

Chapter 2400

2314 The Visual Arts Registry

802.4 Fixation of Musical Works

To be copyrightable, musical works must be fixed in a tangible medium of expression. 17 U.S.C. § 102 (A). Musical works may be embodied either in copies or phonorecords, as explained in Sections 802.4 (A) through 802.4 (C). 17 U.S.C. § 101 (definition of “fixed”).

Improvised works are not registrable unless they are fixed in tangible form, such as in a transcribed copy, a phonorecord, or an audiovisual recording. A registration for an improvised musical work will extend only to the material that has been submitted to the Office.