as the claimant for copyright registration if someone else owns most of the exclusive
(there is no legal requirement that such
copyright rights.
contract be in writing, but it’s not a bad
idea); see 37 CFR 202.3(a)(3) (1984).
CHAPTER 3 | COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION | 59
EXAMPLE 1: Assume that Joe transferred
EXAMPLE 2: Assume that the club dissolved
to the Rock Climbing Club only the right to
not long after Joe finished writing the
publish a new edition of the pamphlet for its
pamphlet. Kate purchased all the club’s
members and other Colorado residents. Joe
exclusive rights in the pamphlet. When Kate
retained all of his other exclusive rights. Joe
registers the work, she should list herself as
is the copyright claimant.
the copyright claimant.
EXAMPLE 2: Assume again that the
Notice that the section on Claimants
Colorado Rock Climbing Club acquired all
also provides space to deal with transferred
of Joe’s exclusive rights in his pamphlet.
claims. If the copyright claimant you
Before the pamphlet is registered, the
listed is not the author or authors named
club transfers to the Southern California
in the “Authors” section, you must
Climber’s Federation the right to publish and indicate how ownership of the copyright
distribute the pamphlet in California. No
was obtained. However, don’t attach the
one now owns all the exclusive rights in the
transfer documents to the application.
pamphlet—not Joe (who owns no rights),
This statement must show the copyright
not the club, and not the federation. When
examiner that all the author’s U.S.
the club registers the pamphlet, Joe must be
copyright rights have been transferred
listed as the copyright claimant because he
by a written agreement or by operation of
is the author and the exclusive rights are not law. Two alternatives are provided in the concentrated in one pair of hands.
“Transfer Statement” field: “By written
In the case of a work made for hire, the
agreement” or “By inheritance.” If these
“author” is the creator’s employer, or the
don’t describe how the rights were acquired,
person or entity that commissioned the work you must fill in the “Transfer Statement
under a written work-for-hire agreement. This Other” box to explain. Examples of
means the copyright claimant is either (1) the unacceptable statements include:
employer or commissioning party; or (2) the
• words indicating that possibly less
person or entity to whom the employer or
than all the author’s U.S. copyright
commissioning party has transferred all of its
rights have been transferred to the
exclusive rights in the work.
claimant—for example: “By license,”
“By permission,” or “Transfer of right
EXAMPLE 1: Assume that Joe was an
employee of the Colorado Rock Climbing
of first publication”
Club and wrote the pamphlet as part of his
• statements suggesting that the person
job. The club is the copyright owner of this
named as the claimant simply owns
work made for hire and the club should be
a physical copy of the work being
listed as the copyright claimant.
registered, not the author’s copyright
rights—for example: “author gave me
60 | THE COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK
this copy,” “found in attic trunk,” or
EXAMPLE: Leila writes a screenplay based
“author asked me to keep it for him,” and
on her unpublished, unregistered novel. The
• statements indicating that the named
screenplay is based on preexisting material,
claimant has a special relationship
but Leila need not complete the limitation
to the author, but that don’t show
of claim section when she registers the
any actual transfer of ownership—
screenplay.
for example: “claimant is author’s
Another relevant limitation on the claim
publisher,” “Claimant is author’s
is material that you’re not asking to have
agent,” or “Author is president of
included within it. Check the appropriate
claimant corporation.”
box(es) to exclude any preexisting material
Again, see Chapter 8, “Transferring
that the work being registered is based on
Copyright Ownership,” for a detailed
or incorporates. You can also add more
discussion of copyright transfers.
information in the “Other” space to make
If the author or owner of all rights has
it clear just what’s being excluded from the
authorized another person or organization
registration. This is often a good idea, since
to act as the claimant, include language like checking the boxes alone may not provide
the following: “Pursuant to the contractual the needed information.
right from [author or owner of all U.S.
copyright rights] to claim legal title to the
EXAMPLE: Joseph writes a biography of
copyright in an application for copyright
Gypsy Rose Lee that includes photographs
registration.”
and excerpts from letters owned by others.
In the “Material Excluded” section, he checks
Limitation of claim
the “Text and Photograph(s)” boxes. He also
adds the fol owing explanation in the “Other”
You must complete this section if the work
space to make it clear just what is being
being registered contains or is based on
excluded from his registration: “letters and
material that was:
photos from different sources.”
• previously registered
• previously published, or
Also notice the entries for “New material
• in the public domain.
included.” Check the appropriate box(es) to
The purpose of this section is to exclude
identify all new or revised material being
such preexisting material from your claim and claimed in this registration. You may use
identify the new material you’re registering. the “Other” space to give a more specific
If the preexisting material in the work
description of the new material. In the
being registered was not published, regis-
preceding “Author” section, be sure you’ve
tered, or in the public domain, don’t
named the author(s) of all the material
complete this section.
checked or described in this section. This
CHAPTER 3 | COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION | 61
material must also be checked or described
• the author
in the “Author” section.
• another copyright claimant (a person
who has acquired of all the author’s
EXAMPLE: Joseph from the above example
rights)
checks the “Text” box in the “New Material
Included” section.
• the owner of one or more—but not
all—of the exclusive rights making up
the entire copyright, or
Rights and Permissions
• the authorized representative of: the
Completing this section is optional, but
author, another person who is the copy-
you should do it. It will tell anyone who
right claimant, or the owner of one or
examines your completed registration
more—but not al —exclusive rights.
who to contact about obtaining rights or
permissions to use your work.
Payment
Correspondent
You must pay the registration fee ($35
for single applications, $55 for standard
Provide the name, postal address, email
applications) electronically. You can do
address, and telephone number (with area
this by credit or debit card, electronic funds
code) of the person the Copyright Office
transfer from a bank account, or by setting
should contact if it has questions about
up a deposit account with the Copyright
your application.
Office.
Mail Certificate
Deposit Requirements
Fill in your name and the return mailing
address for your copyright registration
The last step is sending the Copyright Office
certificate.
a copy of the work, cal ed a deposit. The
deposit must be one or two copies of the “best
Special Handling
edition” of the work. Ordinarily, the deposit
You need to complete this section only if
must be postal mailed to the Copyright
you wish to have your application processed Office. However, unpublished works and
on an expedited basis. This costs $800
works published only electronical y may be
extra. See “Expedited Registration,” below.
registered with electronic deposits. Payment
is required before the system will prompt you
Certification
to upload your work as an electronic file, or
print out a shipping slip if you plan to submit
Check the box and provide the name of the a hard copy of your work. See “Satisfying
certifying individual where indicated. The
Copyright Office Deposit Requirements”
certifying individual must be:
62 | THE COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK
below for a detailed discussion of Copyright
message. The fill-in forms are on the
Office deposit rules.
Copyright Office website at www.copyright.
gov. Under “Publications,” click “Forms.”
Certificate of Registration
If your claim is approved, the Copyright
Registering Newspapers,
Office will postal mail you a simplified
Magazines, Newsletters, and
certificate of registration.
Other Periodicals: Form SE,
Form SE/Group, Form G/DN
Registering Using Form TX and
Introduction
Other Paper Application Forms
Newspapers, magazines, and other periodi-
You also have the option to register by
cals such as newsletters and journals are
postal mail using the old Copyright Office
normally “collective works” in which a
paper application forms. These are: Form
number of individual contributions, such as
TX (literary works); Form VA (visual arts
articles, stories, cartoons, and photographs,
works); Form PA (performing arts works,
are assembled into a collective whole. Maga-
including motion pictures); Form SR (sound zines and similar publications are also called recordings); and Form SE (single serials).
serials. Both the magazine as a whole and
The Copyright Office really doesn’t want the individual contributions are entitled to
you to register this way. If you use this
full copyright protection.
method, the registration fee is $85.
A magazine or another periodical issue
It will also take the Copyright Office
is registered as a whole on one of the SE
much longer to process your application—
series of forms, usually by the person(s) or
ten to 15 months compared to six to ten
organization that owns the publication or
months for electronic applications.
supervises its creation. When a magazine
You can fill out the paper forms by
or another periodical issue is registered as a
hand or typewriter. Alternatively, you can
whole, the registration protects:
fill in online versions of the forms on the
• the revising, editing, compiling, and
Copyright Office website and then print
similar efforts that went into putting
them out to mail.
the issue into final form
You can request that the Copyright
• any individual contributions
Office send you (up to two) copies of the
(articles and so on) prepared by
paper forms online at www.copyright.
the publication’s employees or by
gov/forms/formrequest.html. You can also
nonemployees who signed work-for-
obtain copies 24 hours a day by calling
hire agreements, and
202-707-9100 and leaving a recorded
CHAPTER 3 | COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION | 63
• any individual contributions by
together in a single registration for a single
freelancers to which the publication
group registration fee.
has purchased all rights.
You can register such group claims online.
If a periodical issue contains any inde-
Go to the Copyright Office Registration
pendently authored contributions to which
Portal at www.copyright.gov/registration,
all of the rights have not been acquired by
and log in to the electronic Copyright Office
the publication, those contributions are not (eCO). After logging in, click “Register a
protected when the issue is registered as a
Group Claim” and choose Serial Issues from
whole. To protect their work, individual
the Type of Group list. Alternatively, you may
contributors who retain some of their rights register by mail using the paper forms
must register separately.
SE/GROUP or G/DN.
EXAMPLE: The Jogger’s Journal is a monthly
magazine owned and published by Ededas,
Group Registration of Serials
Inc. The July issue contains 12 articles: Two
The Copyright Office permits multiple
articles were written by the journal’s editorial issues of the same magazine to be registered staff; two were written by freelance writers
together as a group for one application fee.
who signed work-for-hire agreements; four
were written by freelancers who assigned
For example, the same monthly magazine
to the journal all their rights; and three
may now be registered three issues at a
were written by freelancers who assigned
time. This way, registrati
on need only be
to the journal only the right to publish their
accomplished four times a year instead of 12.
articles for the first time in North America.
You can register a group of contributions to
When the July issue is registered, all the
serials online or by completing and mailing
material in it will be protected except for
in the paper registration form SE/GROUP.
the three articles to which the journal did
Unfortunately, there are some restrictions on
not acquire al rights.
which periodicals may be registered together.
You can register any single serial publica-
Periodical must be a work made for hire
tion (including a single periodical issue,
newspaper, magazine issue, bulletin,news-
The magazine or other periodical must
letter issue, annual, journal, or similar
be a work made for hire. This means that
publication) using Form SE. Such registra-
the persons who create the periodical as a
tion may be done electronically or by postal whole—that is, do the editing, compiling,
mail, as described above. However, when
and similar work necessary to put the issue
you register as a single issue, the fee will be
in its final form—must be employees of
$35 per issue. It’s much cheaper and easier
the owner of the publication or have been
to register a group of serial publications
commissioned to do the work under a
64 | THE COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK
written contract. (See Chapter 7, “Initial
• no more frequently than once a week
Copyright Ownership ,” for a detailed
• at least four times a year, and
discussion of works made for hire.) Most
• all issues being registered together
periodicals and other serial publications are
were published within a 90-day period
works made for hire for which the owner of
during the same calendar year.
the publication has hired or commissioned
EXAMPLE 1: Thirteen issues of Newspeak
others to compile and edit.
Magazine are published every 90 days. Instead
EXAMPLE: Newspeak Magazine is a weekly
of registering each issue separately, up to 13
news magazine that is compiled and edited
con secutive issues can be registered at the
entirely by the publisher’s editorial staff.
same time as a group, so long as all the issues
Newspeak is a work made for hire, and the
were published during the same calendar
The Copyright Handbook Page 12