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Purdue Law Offices are considered a leading copyright law firm in the area of intellectual property law and offers information to independent inventors regarding copyrights and the steps necessary to register your copyright.
A copyright protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software and architecture. Copyright law protects the expression of facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation; however, copyright law does not protect the facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation themselves.
For an excellent introduction to copyright law, we recommend the copyright office publication entitled Copyright Basics.
For information about how to register a claim to copyright in:
The moment a work is created, in a tangible form outside the mind, the owner has complete copyright protection of that work, whether it is written, painted, sculpetd, or even put on the internet.
Your works of art, music, etc, all have copyright protection with or without formal copyright registration with the Library of Congress or any other copyright office. However, copyright registration adds proof of copyright ownership and aids you in fighting copyright infringement.
In the United States, the Library of Congress officialy registers copyrights which now last for the life of the author plus 70 years. No one else can profit or copy your ideas without your permission during this time period.
- Copyright registration establishes a public record of the copyright claim.
- Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, copyright registration is necessary for works of U.S. origin.
- If made before or within five years of publication, copyright registration will establish prima facie (at first sight) evidence in court of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate.
- If copyright registration is made within three months after publication of the work or prior to an infringement of the work, statutory damages and attorney's fees will be available to the copyright owner in court actions. Otherwise, only an award of actual damages and profits is available to the copyright owner.
- Copyright registration allows the owner of the copyright to record the registration with the U. S. Customs Service for protection against the importation of infringing copies.
By mail:
Library of Congress
Copyright Office
Publications Section, LM-455
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
By making an online mail request to have the forms mailed to you.
Fill in Forms Online
- All Copyright Office forms are available on the Copyright Office Website as a fill-in version, You just follow the instructions. The fill-in forms allow you to enter information while the form is displayed on the screen by an Adobe Acrobat Reader product. You may then print the completed form and mail it to the Copyright Office. Fill-in forms provide a clean, sharp printout for your records and for filing with the Copyright Office.
By Telephone
If you know which application forms and circulars you want, request them from the Forms and Publications Hotline 24 hours a day. Dial 202.707.9100 and leave a recorded message.
Registering a Copyright
There are three things that must be included in the same envelope when registering a copyright:
A properly completed copyright application form .
for literary works and computer programs, use Form TX
for performing arts, use Form PA; for single issue serials/periodicals
use Form SE; for a group of issues of serials/periodicals, use Form SE/Group
for a group of daily newspapers or newsletters, use Form G/DN
for sound recordings, use Form SR; for visual arts, use Form VA.
A non-refundable copyright filing fee .
A non-returnable deposit of the work being registered
The requirements of this deposit will vary in certain situations.
A deposit is usually one copy or an unpublished work, or two copies of a published work.
In certain cases such as works of the visual arts, identifying material such as a photograph may be used instead.
Deposit Requirements for Registration of Claims to Copyright in Visual Arts Material
Once sent, the deposit becomes the property of the Library of Congress.
Always submit the best edition of your published work
Applications and fees received without appropriate copies, phonorecords, or identifying material will not be processed by the Copyright Office and are not returned.
No; however, the skilled hand of a seasoned copyright, patent, and trademark attorney can certainly be a valuable resource in the copyright protection process
USPTO: A Copyright Refresher
Copyright Office
Library of Congress |