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Registration Process |
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Learn about the
Copyright Registration Process
Step 1: The Application Process
We begin by preparing and filing your Copyright
registration request with the U.S. Copyright
Office. Trained in the methods used by the U.S.
Copyright Office in examining applications, our
professionals' filing methods ensure that our
clients' works register as fast as possible with
few delays.
To file for protection of your Copyright we
require certain information about the work as
well as a deposit of the work to be registered
with the U.S. Copyright Office.
Information Required
In regard to the information required, you will
need to provide us with the following:
Title: The Title of the Work You Wish to
Copyright.
Authors: The Name(s) of the Author(s) of the
Work.
Claimant(s) or Owner(s): In Copyrights the
person or entity filing for protection of the
Work is often not the author of the Work (e.g.,
a company owns and wishes to copyright a
software program written for them by an
independent contractor under a work-for-hire
agreement; a company wishes to Copyright their
logo created by a third-party logo design
company). In these instances the name of the
Author and Claimant or Owner would differ. The
Claimant is the person or entity who is claiming
ownership of the Work to be registered.
Date(s) of Creation & Publication: The Date the
Work was Created as well as the Date the Work
was First Distributed or Offered to Be
Distributed to the Public or Otherwise, if any.
Derivative Work or Compilation: From
time-to-time our customers seek to protect
updates of their prior Works known as a
Derivative or new parts to an existing work
known as a Compilation. Although this generally
does not apply, if this is the case we will need
to know the name and registration number, if
any, of the prior work.
Deposit Required
In regard to the requirement for a deposit, for
all Copyright Registrations we must provide the
U.S. Copyright Office with a deposit of the Work
to be registered. Examples of deposits needed
for the various forms of Works that may be
registered are as follows:
Books, Manuscripts, and Other Literary Writings:
A copy of the complete Work to be protected.
Photographs: A copy of the photograph to be
protected.
Motion Pictures, Video Recordings, and the Like:
A copy of the complete Work to be protected.
Audio Recordings: A copy of the complete Work(s)
to be protected (Note, multiple songs on one
album may be protected under one Copyright
Registration).
Musical Compositions: For compositions (e.g.,
music in written form) a complete written copy
of the music with lyrics, if any, to be
protected.
Computer Programs: A complete copy of the
computer code to be protected provided that the
code is under 50 pages in length. If the code
exceeds 50 pages in length then a copy of the
first and last 25 pages of code of the code for
the program sought to be protected.
Web Pages and Web Sites: A complete copy of the
web page and/or web page content sought to be
protected.
Step 2: The Examination Process
Unlike trademarks once filed the registration of
copyrights entails a far less rigorous
examination process. The U.S. Copyright Office
does not conduct an evaluation as to whether
your applied-for work would infringe upon any
existing Copyright Registration. Rather, their
role is limited to making sure that all
procedural requirements for registration of the
Work have been completed including, but not
limited to the submission of the mandatory
deposit of the Work to be protected. Provided
that there are no procedural irregularities in
the application the Copyright Registration will
issue.
Step 3: Registration of Your Copyright
Approximately four months after the submission
of the application you will receive your
Copyrights Certificate of Registration.
As a general rule, for works created after
January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for
the life of the author plus an additional 70
years. For an anonymous work, a pseudonymous
work, or a work made for hire, the copyright
endures for a term of 95 years from the year of
its first publication or a term of 120 years
from the year of its creation, whichever expires
first. For works first published prior to 1978,
the term will vary depending on several factors.
Works created on or after January 1, 1978, are
not subject to renewal registration. As to works
published or registered prior to January 1,
1978, renewal registration is optional after 28
years but does provide certain legal advantages.
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