Copyright Registration

Copyright Registration in the United States

Copyright Law in the United States: Notice and Registration

Introduction to Copyright Notice and Registration

A copyright notice informs the public that a given work is copyrighted. The notice is placed in each published copy of the protected work and consists of either the word copyright, the abbreviation copr. or the symbol ©, accompanied by the name of the copyright owner and the date of first publication. For sound recordings, the symbol ℗ is used instead of the symbol ©. Under the 1909 act, publication of a work without a proper copyright notice resulted in a complete loss of copyright protection. Under the 1976 act, omission of notice also originally resulted in a loss of copyright protection, but this statute gave the author a right to correct the error by following certain specified procedures. Congress changed this rule in 1988. For all works published after March 1, 1989, copyright notice is optional, though highly recommended.

A copyright owner may register a claim of ownership with the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. To register, the owner must fill out an application, pay a fee, and, if the work is published, send two complete copies of the work. The copies become part of the collection of the Library of Congress. Although copyright registration is theoretically optional, the copyright owner cannot go to court to enforce any rights until the work has been registered. In addition, early copyright registration allows an author more options in any litigation to enforce the copyright.” (1)

Copyright in the U.S. Code

The United States Copyright Code appears in Title 17 of the United State Code.