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Copyright Secured Automatically upon Creation
The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood. No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright. (*NOTE: Copyright Office fees are subject to change. For current fees, please check the Copyright Office website, write the Copyright Office, or call (202) 707-3000.) There are, however, certain definite advantages to registration. See “Copyright Registration.”
Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is “created” when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time. “Copies” are material objects from which a work can be read or visually perceived either directly or with the aid of a machine or device, such as books, manuscripts, sheet music, film, videotape, or microfilm. “Phonorecords” are material objects embodying fixations of sounds (excluding, by statutory definition, motion picture soundtracks), such as cassette tapes, CDs, or LPs. Thus, for example, a song (the “work”) can be fixed in sheet music (“copies”) or in phonograph disks (“phonorecords”), or both. 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.
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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-----Unpublished Works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
-----Preregistration
-----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-----Unpublished Collections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 Available
Fees
Search of Copyright Office Records
For Further Information
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Source: U.S. Copyright Office
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Revised July 2006
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