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Copyright Basics

U.S. Copyright Office - Library of Congress

Copyright Basics September 2000

Table of Contents

+ What Is Copyright? + Who Can Claim Copyright + Copyright and National Origin of the Work + What Works Are Protected? + What Is Not Protected by Copyright? + How to Secure Copyright + Publication + Notice of Copyright + Form of Notice for Visually Perceptible Copies + Form of Notice for Phonorecords of Sound Recordings + Position of Notice + Publications Incorporating U.S. Government Works + Unpublished Works + Omission of Notice and Errors in Notice + How Long Copyright Protection Endures + Transfer of Copyright + Termination of Transfers + International Copyright Protection + Copyright Registration + Registration Procedures + Original Registration + Special Deposit Requirements + Unpublished Collections + Effective Date of Registration + Corrections and Amplifications of Existing Registrations + Mandatory Deposit for Works Published in the United States + Use of Mandatory Deposit to Satisfy Registration Requirements + Who May File an Application Form? + Application Forms + Fill-in Forms + Fees + Search of Copyright Office Records + For Further Information

WHAT IS COPYRIGHT?

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to the authors of "original works of authorship", including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:

+ To perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works;

In addition, certain authors of works of visual art have the rights of attribution and integrity as described in Title 17, Chap 1, Section 106a of the 1976 Copyright Act. For further information, request "Copyright Registration for Works of the Visual Arts" .

It is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by the copyright law to the owner of copyright. These rights, however, are not unlimited in scope. Title 17, Chap 1 of the 1976 Copyright Act establish limitations on these rights. In some cases, these limitations are specified exemptions from copyright liability. One major limitation is the doctrine of "fair use", which is given a statutory basis in Title 17, Chap1, Section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act. In other instances, the limitation takes the form of a "compulsory license" under which certain limited uses of copyrighted works are permitted upon payment of specified royalties and compliance with statutory conditions. For further information about the limitations of any of these rights, consult the copyright law or write to the Copyright Office.

In the case of works made for hire, the employer and not the employee is considered to be the author. Title 17, Chap 1, Sec. 101 of the copyright law defines a "work made for hire" as:

+ a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or

+ a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as: + a contribution to a collective work + a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work + a translation + a supplementary work + a compilation + an instructional text + a test + answer material for a test + a sound recording + an atlas

if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire....

The authors of a joint work are co-owners of the copyright in the work, unless there is an agreement to the contrary.

Copyright in each separate contribution to a periodical or other collective work is distinct from copyright in the collective work as a whole and vests initially with the author of the contribution.

Two General Principles

+ Mere ownership of a book, manuscript, painting, or any other copy or phonorecord does not give the possessor the copyright. The law provides that transfer of ownership of any material object that embodies a protected work does not of itself convey any rights in the copyright.

+ Minors may claim copyright, but state laws may regulate the business dealings involving copyrights owned by minors. For information on relevant state laws, consult an attorney.

+ The work is first published in the United States or in a foreign nation that, on the date of first publication, is a treaty party. For purposes of this condition, a work that is published in the United States or a treaty party within 30 days after publication in a foreign nation that is not a treaty party shall be considered to be first published in the United States or such treaty party, as the case may be; or

+ The work is a sound recording that was first fixed in a treaty party; or

+ The work is a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work that is incorporated in a building or other structure, or an architectural work that is embodied in a building and the building or structure is located in the United States or a treaty party; or

+ The work is first published by the United Nations or any of its specialized agencies, or by the Organization of American States; or

+ The work comes within the scope of a Presidential proclamation.

WHAT WORKS ARE PROTECTED?

Copyright protects "original works of authorship" that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a machine or device. Copyrightable works include the following categories:

+ literary works; + musical works, including any accompanying words + dramatic works, including any accompanying music + pantomimes and choreographic works + pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works + motion pictures and other audiovisual works + sound recordings + architectural works

These categories should be viewed broadly. For example, computer programs and most "compilations" may be registered as "literary works"; maps and architectural plans may be registered as "pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works."

WHAT IS NOT PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT?

Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection. These include among others:

+ Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents

+ Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration

HOW TO SECURE A COPYRIGHT

Copyright Secured Automatically upon Creation

If a work is prepared over a period of time, the part of the work that is fixed on a particular date constitutes the created work as of that date.

PUBLICATION

Publication is no longer the key to obtaining federal copyright as it was under the Copyright Act of 1909. However, publication remains important to copyright owners.

The 1976 Copyright Act defines publication as follows:

"Publication" is the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication.

Certain foreign works originally published without notice had their copyrights restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act . Request Circular 38B and see the "Notice of Copyright" section of this publication for further information.

Federal copyright could also be secured before 1978 by the act of registration in the case of certain unpublished works and works eligible for ad interim copyright. The 1976 Copyright Act automatically extends to full term copyright for all works, including those subject to ad interim copyright if ad interim registration has been made on or before June 30, 1978.

Publication is an important concept in the copyright law for several reasons:

+ Works that are published in the United States are subject to mandatory deposit with the Library of Congress. See discussion on "Mandatory Deposit for Works Published in the United States."

+ Publication of a work can affect the limitations on the exclusive rights of the copyright owner that are set forth in Title 17, Chap 1 of the law.

+ Deposit requirements for registration of published works differ from those for registration of unpublished works. See discussion on "Registration Procedures."

+ When a work is published, it may bear a notice of copyright to identify the year of publication and the name of the copyright owner and to inform the public that the work is protected by copyright. Copies of works published before March 1, 1989, must bear the notice or risk loss of copyright protection. See discussion on "Notice of Copyright" below.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT

The use of a copyright notice is no longer required under U. S. law, although it is often beneficial. Because prior law did contain such a requirement, however, the use of notice is still relevant to the copyright status of older works.

The Copyright Office does not take a position on whether copies of works first published with notice before March 1, 1989, which are distributed on or after March 1, 1989, must bear the copyright notice.

Use of the notice may be important because it informs the public that the work is protected by copyright, identifies the copyright owner, and shows the year of first publication. Furthermore, in the event that a work is infringed, if a proper notice of copyright appears on the published copy or copies to which a defendant in a copyright infringement suit had access, then no weight shall be given to such a defendant's interposition of a defense based on innocent infringement in mitigation of actual or statutory damages, except as provided in Title 17, Chap. 5, Sec. 504 of the copyright law. Innocent infringement occurs when the infringer did not realize that the work was protected.

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