Wednesday, August 13, 2008

U.S. Copyright Office Basics: "What Is Not Protected by Copyright?"

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

  • Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression (for example, choreographic works that have not been notated or recorded, or improvisational speeches or performances that have not been written or recorded)


  • 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


  • Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship (for example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources)

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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-----Unpublished Works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-----Unpublished Collections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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