posted online and distributed in tangible
tected by copyright may be registered. A
copies, such as CDs, DVDs, or in printed
work need not consist entirely of protected
form, the work is published, even if it has
material to be registrable. So long as a
not been published online.
part of a work is protectable, it may be
If there is a notice on a website stating
registered. The registration covers those
that the work and/or all content on the site
portions of the work that are protected. (See
may not be downloaded, printed, or copied Chapter 5, “What Copyright Protects.”)
(or another statement to that effect), the
work is deemed unpublished, because any
Published Works
copying done by users is not authorized by
the copyright owner.
As a general rule, any published work of
value should be registered within three
months of publication. You can probably
Registration Deters Infringement
forget about registration, however, if your
Another reason to register is that it causes
work is not worth copying (which is usually
the work to be indexed in the Copyright
the case where the work will become outdated
Office’s records under the title and author’s shortly after publication or where it is not name. These records are open to the public
especially new or creative), or if you aren’t
and are frequently searched by persons
concerned about someone copying your work.
or organizations seeking to find out
whether a particular known work has been
Unpublished Works
registered and, if so, who currently owns the
copyright. If you have registered your work, In deciding whether to register your
these people may contact you and be willing unpublished work, you need to consider how
to pay you a permission fee or royalty
many people will see it, who they are, how
to use it. If you haven’t registered, they
valuable you feel the work is, and how likely
may conclude that you’re not very serious
it is that someone would want to copy it.
about enforcing your copyright rights. As
The potential for copying exists whenever
a result, they may be inclined to use your
you circulate a manuscript to publishers,
work without asking your permission (that
literary agents, personal contacts, and
is, they may be more inclined to commit
others. When you submit a manuscript to
copyright infringement).
publishers or others, you have no control
over how many people are going to read it.
CHAPTER 3 | COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION | 43
However, don’t be unduly paranoid about Who Can Register?
others stealing your work. The fact is that
very few manuscripts are ever copied by
Anyone who owns all or part of the rights
publishers. It is usually easier and cheaper
that make up a work’s copyright may
for a publisher to purchase the right to
register that work, as can that person’s
publish a manuscript than go to the trouble authorized agent (representative). This
of copying it and risk an infringement suit.
means registration may be accomplished by:
• the author or authors of a work
• anyone who has acquired one or more
Ideas Are Not Protected
of the author or authors’ exclusive
by Registration
copyright rights, or
Copyright does not protect facts or ideas,
• the authorized agent of any of the above.
only their expression in a tangible form.
Ownership of copyrights is discussed
(See Chapter 5, “What Copyright Protects.”)
in detail in Chapter 7, “Initial Copyright
This means you cannot register a book or an
Ownership ,” and Chapter 8, “Transferring
article idea. And registering a book or article
Copyright Ownership.” The following
proposal, outline, or sample chapters before
discussion briefly describes ownership solely
submission to a publisher will not extend
for registration purposes.
copyright protection to your idea.
EXAMPLE: Leslie writes a detailed outline
Ownership by the Author(s)
and sample chapters for a proposed book
Unless a work is a work made for hire (see
on nude skydiving. She registers the out-
below), the copyright initially belongs to
line and chapters, and then sends them to
several publishers. Larry, a freelance writer,
the person or persons who created it.
hears about Leslie’s submission from an
Individual y authored works
editor acquaintance at one of these publish-
ers and decides to write a book of his own
The copyright in a work created by a single
on nude skydiving. In doing so, however,
individual is owned by that individual.
Larry does not copy anything from Leslie’s
An individually authored work can be
outline or sample chapters (indeed, he never
registered by the author or an authorized
saw them). Leslie cannot successful y sue
agent (that is, someone the author asks to
Larry for copyright infringement for steal-
register on the author’s behalf).
ing her idea for a book on nude skydiving.
The fact that she registered her outline and
EXAMPLE: Shelby has written a history of
sample chapters did not extend copyright
the Civil War. Shelby can register the book
protection to the ideas they contained.
himself, or it can be registered on Shelby’s
behalf by his authorized agent—for example,
his publisher.
44 | THE COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK
Works made for hire
EXAMPLE: Bob, Carol, Ted, and Alice
decide to write a nonfiction book entitled
A work made for hire is a work created
The New Celibacy. They each agree to
by an employee as part of a job, or a work
write one-quarter of the entire work and
that has been specially commissioned
agree that they will each own 25% of the
under a written work-for-hire agreement.
entire copyright. After it is written, The
For registration purposes, the author of a
New Celibacy may be registered by any
work made for hire is the writer’s employer
combination of Bob, Carol, Ted, and Alice or
or another person for whom the work was
their authorized agent(s).
prepared. It is normally the employer who
registers a work made for hire, not the
Again, for a detailed discussion of these
employee-writer.
categories, see Chapter 7, “Initial Copyright
Ownership.”
EXAMPLE: Bruno is a technical writer/
translator employed by BigTech, Inc. His
latest project was translating a technical
Registration by Publishers
manual into German
. The manual is a work
and Other Transferees
made for hire and should be registered by
As discussed in Chapter 1, “ Copyright
BigTech, Bruno’s employer.
Basics,” an author’s copyright is really a
bundle of separate, exclusive rights. These
exclusive rights include the right to make
RESOURCE
copies of an original work, the right to
If you create a protectable work on
distribute or sell the work, the right to display
a freelance basis for someone else, the question the work, and the right to adapt—that is, of ownership can be complex. Read Chapter 7,
make derivative works out of—the work. A
“Initial Copyright Ownership,” before completing copyright owner can sell or otherwise transfer the registration.
all or part of his or her exclusive copyright
rights. Indeed, this is usual y how an author
Joint works
benefits economical y from work.
Transferees need to be concerned about
If two or more persons who are not
registration because, if the work is not timely
employees create a protectable work
registered, they will not be entitled to obtain
together, the work so created is called a
statutory damages and attorneys’ fees if
joint work. A joint work is co-owned by its
they successful y sue a person who infringes
creators and can be registered by one, some, on the rights they purchased. (Again,
or all of the authors or by their agent.
registration is timely only if accomplished
CHAPTER 3 | COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION | 45
before an infringement occurs or within
Letting Your Publisher
three months of publication.) Fortunately,
Register the Copyright
transferees do not have to rely on authors to
timely register. Anyone who obtains one or
In the past, publishers always registered the
more of an author’s exclusive rights is entitled
books they published with the Copyright
to register the author’s work.
Office. Many still do, and even if you retain
some of your rights, your publisher should
EXAMPLE 1: In return for a 12% royalty on
accomplish the registration as an owner
each copy sold, Darlene transfers to Able
of an exclusive right or rights (such as the
Publishers all of her exclusive rights to her
right to make copies and sell the book) or
bowling instruction guide. Able may register
as your authorized agent.
the book.
However, today some smal er indepen-
EXAMPLE 2: Assume instead that Darlene
dent publishers avoid registering a work, as
transfers to Able the exclusive right to sel ,
a means of saving money. Be sure to check
display, and make copies of the book, but
your publishing agreement to see what
retains her other copyright rights. As a
it says about registering your work. If it’s
holder of some of Darlene’s exclusive rights,
silent on the matter, you may wish to add
Able is still entitled to register the book.
a clause requiring the publisher to register;
or, you may prefer to avoid the hassle and
If only a portion of a work’s copyright is
just do it yourself.
transferred, it is possible that several differ-
If your publisher is supposed to perform
ent persons or entities qualify to register the
this task, you should check in one or two
copyright.
months after publication to make sure
EXAMPLE: Bill writes a novel and grants
your book has been registered, especial y
Scrivener & Sons the exclusive right to
if you’re dealing with a very small or
publish it in the United States. He also
inexperienced publisher that may be
grants Repulsive Pictures the exclusive
lax about such matters. (Recall that to
right to author and produce a screenplay
obtain statutory damages and attorneys’
based on the novel. Scrivener and Repulsive
fees, your work must be registered within
each hold one of the exclusive rights that
three months of publication or before the
are part of Bil ’s overall copyright, and Bill
infringement begins.)
holds the rest. This means the novel could
Of course, the situation is very different
be registered by Bil , by Scrivener, or by
if you are self-publishing your work. In this
Repulsive.
scenario, you must handle the registration
yourself. This is also usually the case if you are
paying a vanity press to publish your book.
46 | THE COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK
Although several people may be entitled
or can I register everything together at
to register a work, normally only one
the same time?” If your work satisfies
registration is allowed for each version of
the requirements listed below, you can
a published work. It makes absolutely no
register the whole work at one time. This
difference who gets the job done. The single will take less time and save on application registration protects every copyright owner.
fees. However, it could result in a smaller
financial award if you sue for copyright
EXAMPLE: Assume that Scrivener & Sons
infringement. (See “When You Register
registered Bil ’s novel in the example above.
This means that neither Bill nor Repulsive
Multiple Works as a Single Unit,” below.)
Pictures can register it. Nor do they need to.
You can register any number of separate
The single registration by Scrivener covers
works of authorship together on one
them al —that is, they are all entitled to the
application if all of the following are true:
benefits of registration.
• They are being published for the first
time.
Again, for a detailed discussion of the
• They constitute a single unit of publica-
rights of copyright transferees, see Chapter 8,
tion—that is, they’re sold together as a
“Transferring Copyright Ownership.”
single unit with each work an integral
part of the whole unit.
Registration as a Single Unit
• The same person(s) created all the
works in the unit, or the same person
A work of authorship often consists of many
or entity has acquired ownership of all
separate works that are combined to form
the copyright rights in all of the works
a unitary whole. For example, a book will
in the unit.
normally consist of a main text written by
Let’s apply this rule to some real-life
an author or authors. But it may also contain situations.
photographs or artwork supplied by the
author or others. It may have a dust jacket
Works Containing
containing artwork or promotional copy
Photographs or Artwork
; written by someone other than the author(s)
of the text. Or, if the book is a paperback,
The artwork or photographs a written work
the cover may contain artwork and copy.
contains can be registered together with the
And it may contain an introduction or other text only if both of the following are true: material written by someone other than the
• They have never been published before.
author(s) of the main text.
• They were created by the author of the
The question naturally arises, “Must I
text, or the same person or entity owns
register each type of authorship separately,
the copyright to the artwork or photos
and text.
CHAPTER 3 | COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION | 47
When You Register Multiple Works as a Single Unit
If your work qualifies as a single unit of
EXAMPLE: Mary creates and publishes
publica tion, you can register the whole
a book about the Dalai Lama that
thing at one time and save on registration
contains text, photos, and drawings.
fees. However, by doing so, you may lose the
Since she owns the copyright in each
right to obtain multiple awards of statutory
type of authorship, she could register it
damages. Statutory damages are awarded
all together at one time for one $55 fee.
by the jury or judge instead of any actual
Instead, Mary decides to register the
monetary losses suffered from a copyright
text, photos, and drawings separately at
infringement and usual y range from $750
a cost of $165 in registration fees. Mary
to $30,000 (but can go all the way up to
subsequently files and wins a copyright
$150,000 in cases of wil ful infringement).
infringement lawsuit against a website
(See Chapter 11, “Copyright Infringement.”)
that copied the entire book without her
Statutory damages sometimes far exceed the
permission. Since her actual dol ar losses
actual monetary losses from infringement.
from the infringement were negligible,
In the largest statutory damages award to
Mary asks for statutory damages. The
date, a television production company was
jury awards her $15,000 ($5,000 for the
awarded $9 mil ion in statutory damages
infringement of the text, $5,000 for the
against a television station owner who aired
photos, and $5,000 for the drawings).
900 television programs without permission;
Had Mary registered the entire book
$10,000 in statutory damages was awarded
The Copyright Handbook Page 9