together as a single unit of publication,
for each program—each of which was
she may have been restricted to a single
separately registered with the Copyright
statutory damages award of $5,000. By
Office. ( MCA Television Ltd. v. Feltner, 89 F.3d
paying an extra $90 to the Copyright
766 (11th Cir. 1996).)
Office, Mary recovered an extra $10,000
If you register a work containing multiple
in damages.
works of authorship as a single unit of
Keep in mind that most registered works
publication, you may be restricted to a single
are never infringed, so, one strategy you may
award of statutory damages in a copyright
want to consider is to register each element
infringement lawsuit. If you register each type
separately only if you believe a work is likely to
of authorship separately, you will be entitled
be infringed. For works less likely to be copied,
to a separate statutory damages award for
register all of the elements—text, photos, and
each type of infringed authorship. Here’s a
artwork—as a single unit of publication.
hypothetical example.
48 | THE COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK
EXAMPLE 1: Jackie is a poet and Bill a
• The artwork and copy have never been
photographer. Jackie and Bill col aborate to
published before.
publish a book combining Bil ’s photo graphs
• The same person or entity owns the
and Jackie’s poetry. They agree to co-own
copyright to the text, cover art, and
the entire copyright in the work. Normal y,
promotional copy.
poetry and photographs are registered
separately on different application forms.
How to Register Artwork
How ever, Jackie and Bill may register the
and Photographs
entire book at the same time for one
application fee on one application form
If you have to register artwork or photographs
since the work is a single unit of publication
separately from the main text of a written
and the text and photos are owned by the
work, you must do so on Form VA. This form
same persons.
is nearly identical with Form TX.
EXAMPLE 2: Jim and Jean agree to produce
a book on how to operate a toxic waste
dump. Jim writes the text and Jean provides
Since cover art and promotional copy are
the pictorial il ustrations for the book. Jim
normally owned by the publisher (whether
and Jean decide that each is the sole owner
created by the publisher’s employees or inde-
of their respective contributions. The single
pendent contractors hired by the publisher),
registration rule does not apply here. The
these items usually can be registered
photos and text were not created by the
together with the text of the book only if
same persons, and they are not owned by
the publisher acquired all the author’s rights
the same persons; they were created and
in the text.
are owned separately by Jim and Jean. This
means that Jim and Jean must each register
EXAMPLE 1: Jane Milsap writes a novel
their work separately, and each pay an
and sel s all her copyright rights to Acme
application fee.
Press. Acme employees prepare artwork
and text for the cover. The text of the novel
and artwork and text for the cover can
Artwork, Photos, and Promotional
be registered together on one Form TX,
Copy on Book Dust Jackets or Covers
because Acme owns them al .
The artwork, photos, or promotional copy
EXAMPLE 2: Bart Milsap, Jane’s brother,
on a book dust jacket or cover may be
writes a novel and grants Acme Press only
registered together with the text only if both
the exclusive right to publish it in North
of the following are true:
America. Bart retains all his other copyright
CHAPTER 3 | COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION | 49
rights. Acme employees prepare artwork
Different Editions With
and text for the cover. The text of the novel
the Same Content
and the artwork and text for the cover must
be registered separately, because they are
It is common for the same work to
separately owned. Acme may register the
be published in different editions—
artwork and cover copy together on the
for example, in both a hardcover and
same form.
paperback edition. Where the content of
the different editions is identical, only one
need be registered. This would normal y
Introductions, Prefaces, Bibliographies,
be the first published edition.
Indexes, and Similar Items
EXAMPLE 1: Acme Publications publishes
An introduction, preface, bibliography, or
and promptly registers a hardcover edition
index or similar material may be registered
of a book on car repair. One year later,
together with a work’s main text only if it
Acme publishes the book in an identical
is being published for the first time and the
paperback edition. The paperback need
person or entity that owns the copyright in
not be registered. The registration of the
hardcover edition protects al the material
the main text also owns the introduction,
the paperback contains.
bibliography, index, or other item.
EXAMPLE 1: Sam writes a book on the
EXAMPLE 2: Assume the same facts as
Civil War and gets the wel -known Civil
Example 1, except that the paperback
War expert Marcus Hand to write an
has new cover art and copy. Acme should
introduction. Hand gives Sam’s publisher the
register the artwork and copy. But again,
right to use the introduction only in Sam’s
there is no need to reregister the text of
book and retains all his other copyright
the book.
rights. The introduction would have to be
If multiple identical editions of the
registered separately from the book.
same work are published simultaneously,
EXAMPLE 2: Assume instead that Acme Press,
again, only one registration need be made.
Sam’s publisher, paid Hand for all his rights in
In such cases, however, the applicant
the introduction and that Acme also acquired
should deposit with the Copyright Office
the edition that is the best edition. (See
all of Sam’s copyright rights in the main text.
detailed discussion of deposits, below.)
Acme could register both the text and the
introduction together as a single unit. Reason:
The same entity owns the copyright in both
the main text and the introduction.
50 | THE COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK
Some Freelance Writers Must Register Sep
arately
If you’re a freelance writer and sell an article or
Consider Lois Morris, a freelancer who
other work to a magazine or similar publication,
wrote a series of columns for Al ure Magazine.
and the publication does not purchase copy-
She did not transfer her copyright to Al ure
right in the work, you must separately register
and failed to separately register the columns.
it. This may not apply to you since most pub-
When she discovered two dozen columns had
lications do purchase all rights (or sign work-
been reprinted in a newsletter without her
made-for-hire agreements). However, some do
permission, she sued for copyright infringe-
not. So, examine your publishing agreement to
ment, relying on the magazine’s copyright
determine what rights you’re sel ing. If you have
application. Her case was dismissed because
an oral agreement with an editor to provide
she had never filed her own copyright reg-
an article or other work, you’re not sel ing al
istrations for the articles. ( Morris v. Business
your rights. (You can only transfer copyright
Concepts, Inc. , 283 F.3d 502 (2d Cir. 2001).)
by a signed written agreement. See Chapter 8,
Although she was entitled to later register
“Transferring Copyright Ownership.”) If you
the works and refile the lawsuit, her failure
don’t timely register such articles, you’ll lose
to timely file registrations resulted in a loss
the right to obtain statutory damages and
of potential financial damages. Therefore, to
attorneys’ fees in an infringement suit. In any
guarantee your rights, a prompt registration is
event, you must register your works in order
recommended. Freelancers can save money by
to file a copyright infringement lawsuit.
registering groups of articles at one time.
Anthologies, Newspapers,
also be registered once as a whole, usually
Magazines, and Other Periodicals
by its publisher. Registration of newspapers,
magazines, and other periodicals is
Anthologies, newspapers, magazines, and
discussed below.
similar works usually contain a number of
separate articles, photos, artwork, and other
material. Each individual contribution must How Many Times to Register a
be registered by the person or entity that
Single Unit of Publication
owns it. If the same person or entity owns
Subject to the exceptions noted below, a
all the contributions, only one registration is single unit of publication need be and can required. The anthology or magazine should be registered only once.
CHAPTER 3 | COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION | 51
Published works
However, there are exceptions to the
As a general rule, a published work con-
general rule. If someone other than the
stituting a single unit of publication can
author is identified as the copyright
only be registered once. If the facts stated
claimant on a registration application, the
in the registration application change after
author may register the same work again in
the work has been registered—for instance, his or her own name as copyright claimant.
the work’s title is changed—an application
A second registration may also be made
for supplemental registration should be filed if the prior registration was unauthorized with the Copyright Office to correct them. or legally invalid—for instance, where
See Chapter 4, “Correcting or Changing
registration was effected by someone other
Copyright Notice or Registration .”
than the author, the owner of exclusive
rights, or an authorized representative.
Registering Unpublished Collections for a Single Application Fee
If you have a number of unpublished works,
• The collection must be given a title
you can register them together at one time
identifying the collection as a whole.
on one application form for one application
EXAMPLE: Joe Sixpack has written 12
fee. This is so, even though the works are self-
unpublished short stories. He collects the
contained (that is, do not constitute a single
stories together into a binder and cal s
unit of publication) and would normally be
the col ection The Unpublished Stories of
registered separately. This procedure can save
Joe Sixpack. Joe may register all 12 stories
you a great deal of money. Four requirements
together, using the Copyright Office’s
must be met:
online registration system, for one $35
• The same person or entity must own al
application fee. Note: If Joe had registered
the copyright rights in all the unpublished
each story separately, it would have cost
works and in the collection as a whole.
him $420—that is, 12 registrations times
• The works must be by the same author,
the $35 application fee. There is no limit
or, if they are by different authors, at
to the number of unpublished works
least one of the authors must have
you can register this way. You could
contributed to each work.
register your entire lifetime’s worth of
• The unpublished works must be assem-
unpublished works for one fee.
bled in an orderly form (one copy must
be deposited with the Copyright Office).
52 | THE COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK
Unpublished works
These types of works are discussed in
A work originally registered as unpublished
detail in Chapter 6, “Adaptations and
may be registered again after publication, even Compilations.” If you’re not sure whether if the published and unpublished versions
your work is a derivative work, read that
are identical. Even if they are identical, it is a
chapter before attempting to register it.
good idea to register the published version of
When can a derivative work be registered?
a previously registered unpublished work. If
you ever become involved in an infringement For a derivative work to be registrable,
suit, it may be very helpful to have the
the new expression created by the work’s
published version of the book on deposit with author must:
the Copyright Office. The second registration
• be owned by the copyright claimant
also establishes the date of publication, which
for the derivative work
may later aid you in proving that an infringer
• contain sufficient original authorship
had access to your work. (See Chapter 11,
to be copyrightable as an independent
“Copyright Infringement.”)
work
• not be in the public domain in the
United States
Registering Derivative
• be new—that is, not previously
Works and Compilations
published, and
&
nbsp; Derivative Works
• not have been previously registered in
unpublished form.
A derivative work is one created by trans-
forming or adapting previously existing
Preexisting Expression Should
material. This includes:
Have Already Been Registered
• new editions of previously published
works, including condensed or abridged
Assuming it’s protectable, the preexisting
editions or editions containing new
expression used to create the derivative
material (new chapters, for example)
work, whether a novel, factual work, or
• dramatizations or fictionalizations,
other work, should already be registered
such as screenplays or stage plays based
with the Copyright Office. If not, it should be
on novels, histories, biographies, or
registered. The preexisting expression can be
other works
registered together with the new expression
• translations, and
if they constitute a single unit of publication
• annotations, such as CliffsNotes.
and the copyright claimant is the same.
Otherwise, the preexisting expression should
be registered separately by its owner.
CHAPTER 3 | COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION | 53
EXAMPLE: Tom writes a play based on his
edition of the work. The new edition is
novel. The play is a new work based on and
identical to the first except that Augusta
adapted from the novel. Tom owns the play,
corrected several spel ing and punctuation
and it has never previously been published
errors. The Copyright Office probably will
or registered. The play can and should be
not register such a work and, indeed, there
registered separately, or Tom will not be
is no reason to do so since there is no new
entitled to statutory damages and attorney
expression in the new edition that needs to
fees if he sues someone for copying those
be protected by registration.
aspects of the work not already protected
EXAMPLE 2: Assume that five years later,
by the copyright in the novel.
Augusta substantial y revises her book on
Roman art. She adds three new chapters
Registering new editions of factual works
and makes numerous substantive changes
Authors of factual works such as scientific
in the other chapters. This new edition is
treatises, histories, and textbooks often
clearly different from the original edition in
The Copyright Handbook Page 10