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Circular 40

2  40.1110

Copyright Registration 

for Works of 

the Visual Arts

Copyright is a form of protection provided by U.S. law to authors of “original 

works of authorship,” including “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works.” The 

owner of copyright in a work has the exclusive right to make copies, prepare derivative works, sell or distribute copies, and display the work publicly. 

Anyone else wishing to use the work in these ways must have the permission of 

the author or someone who has derived rights through the author.

A work is automatically protected by copyright when it is created, that is, 

“fixed” in a copy or phonorecord for the first time. Neither registration in the 

Copyright Office nor publication is required for copyright protection. There 

are, however, certain advantages to registration, including establishment of a 

public record of the copyright claim. See the heading “Effective Date of Registration” below for more details.

Copyright Notice

Before March 1, 1989, the use of a copyright notice was mandatory on all 

published works, and any work first published before that date should have 

carried a notice. For works first published on or after March 1, 1989, use of a 

copyright notice is optional. For more information about copyright notice, 

see Circular 3, Copyright Notice, available on the Copyright Office website at 

www.copyright.gov.

Publication

Copyright law defines “publication” as the distribution of copies of a work to 

the public by sale or other transfer of ownership or by rental, lease, or lending. 

Offering to distribute copies to a group of people for purposes of further distribution or public display also constitutes publication. A public display does not 

in itself constitute publication.

A work of art that exists in only one copy, such as a painting or a statue, is 

not regarded as published when the single existing copy is sold or offered for 

sale in the traditional way, such as through an art dealer, gallery, or auction 

house. A statue erected in a public place is not necessarily published.

When the work is reproduced in multiple copies, such as in reproductions of 

a painting or castings of a statue, the work is published when the reproductions 

are publicly distributed or offered to a group for further distribution or public 

display.
Copyright Registration for Works of the Visual Arts · 2

Publication is an important concept in copyright. 

Whether a work is published or not can affect the number of 

copies and the type of material that must be deposited when 

registering the work. In addition, some works published in 

the United States become subject to mandatory deposit in 

the Library of Congress. These requirements are explained 

elsewhere in this circular. 

Works of the Visual Arts

Copyright protects original “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works,” which include two- and three-dimensional 

works of fine, graphic, and applied art.1 Examples of such 

works include

•	 Advertisements, commercial prints, labels

•	 Artificial flowers and plants

•	 Artwork applied to clothing or to other useful articles

•	 Bumper stickers, decals, stickers

•	 Cartographic works, such as maps, globes, relief models

•	 Cartoons, comic strips

•	 Collages

•	 Dolls, toys

•	 Drawings, paintings, murals

•	 Enamel works

•	 Fabric, floor, and wall-covering designs

•	 Games, puzzles

•	 Greeting cards, postcards, stationery

•	 Holograms, computer and laser artwork

•	 Jewelry designs

•	 Models

•	 Mosaics

•	 Needlework and craft kits

•	 Original prints, such as engravings, etchings, serigraphs,

silk-screen prints, woodblock prints

•	 Patterns for sewing, knitting, crochet, needlework

•	 Photographs, photomontages

•	 Posters

•	 Record jacket artwork or photography

•	 Relief and intaglio prints

•	 Reproductions, such as lithographs, collotypes

•	 Sculpture, such as carvings, ceramics, figurines, maquettes,

molds, relief sculptures

•	 Stained glass designs

•	 Stencils, cut-outs

•	 Technical and mechanical drawings, architectural drawings or plans, blueprints, diagrams

•	 Weaving designs, lace designs, tapestries

Copyright protection for an original work of authorship 

does not extend to

•	 Ideas, concepts, discoveries, principles

•	 Formulas, processes, systems, methods, procedures

•	 Words or short phrases, such as names, titles, and slogans

•	 Familiar symbols or designs

•	 Mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering,

or coloring

Useful Articles

A “useful article” is an article having an intrinsic utilitarian 

function that is not merely to portray the appearance of 

the article or to convey information. Examples are clothing, 

furniture, machinery, dinnerware, and lighting fixtures. An 

article that is normally part of a useful article may itself be a 

useful article—an ornamental wheel cover on a vehicle, for 

example.

Copyright does not protect the mechanical or utilitarian aspects of such works of craftsmanship. It may, however, 

protect any pictorial, graphic, or sculptural authorship that 

can be identified separately from the utilitarian aspects of 

an object. Thus a useful article may have both copyrightable 

and uncopyrightable features. For example, a carving on 

the back of a chair or a floral relief design on silver flatware 

could be protected by copyright, but the design of the chair 

or flatware itself could not. 

Some designs of useful articles may qualify for protection 

under the federal patent law. For information, visit the U.S.

Patent and Trademark Office website at www.uspto.gov or call 

(800) 786-9199.

Copyright in a work that portrays a useful article extends 

only to the artistic expression of the author of the pictorial, 

graphic, or sculptural work. It does not extend to the design 

of the article that is portrayed. For example, a drawing or 

photograph of an automobile or a dress design may be copyrighted, but that does not give the artist or photographer the 

exclusive right to make automobiles or dresses of the same 

design.
Copyright Registration for Works of the Visual Arts · 3

Registration Procedures

An application for copyright registration contains three 

essential elements: a completed application form, a nonrefundable filing fee, and a nonreturnable deposit—that is, a 

copy or copies of the work being registered and “deposited” 

with the Copyright Office.

There are two ways to apply for copyright registration. 

Online registration through the electronic Copyright Office 

(eCO) is the preferred way to register basic claims for literary 

works; visual arts works; performing arts works, including 

motion pictures; sound recordings; and single serials. Advantages of online filing include a lower filing fee; the fastest 

processing time; online status tracking; secure payment by 

credit or debit card, electronic check, or Copyright Office 

deposit account; and the ability to upload certain categories 

of deposits directly into eCO as electronic files. To access 

eCO, go to the Copyright Office website and click on

electronic Copyright Office.

You can also apply using paper forms. To access fill-in 

versions of Form VA (visual arts works) and Form CON (continuation sheet for paper applications), go to the Copyright 

Office website and click on Forms. Complete the form(s) on 

your personal computer, print them out, and mail them with 

a check or money order and a deposit. Blank forms can also 

be printed out and completed by hand or requested by postal 

mail (limit two copies of any one form by mail). 

Note: Copyright Office fees are subject to change. For current 

fees, check the Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov, 

write the Copyright Office, or call (202) 707-3000. 

Effective Date of Registration

When the Copyright Office issues a registration certificate, it 

assigns as the effective date of registration the date it received 

all required elements—an application, a nonrefundable 

filing fee, and a nonreturnable deposit—in acceptable form, 

regardless of how long it took to process the application and 

mail the certificate.

You do not have to receive your certificate before you 

publish or produce your work, nor do you need permission from the Copyright Office to place a copyright notice 

on your work. However, the Copyright Office must have

acted on your application before you can file a suit for copyright infringement, and certain remedies, such as statutory 

damages and attorney’s fees, are available only for acts of 

infringement that occurred after the effective date of registration. If a published work was infringed before the effective 

date of registration, those remedies may also be available if 

the effective date of registration is no later than three months 

after the first publication of the work. 

The time the Copyright Office requires to process an 

application varies, depending on the amount of material 

the Office is receiving and the method of application. If you 

apply online for copyright registration, you will receive an 

email notification when your application is received. If you 

apply on a paper form, you will not receive an acknowledgment of your application, but you can expect a certificate of 

registration indicating that the work has been registered; a 

letter or a telephone call from the Copyright Office if further information is needed; or, if the application cannot be 

accepted, a letter explaining why it has been rejected.

The Copyright Office cannot honor requests to make 

certificates available for pickup or to send them by express 

mail. If you want to know the date that the Copyright Office 

receives your paper application or your deposit, use registered or certified mail and request a return receipt.

Deposit Requirements

Circular 40a, Deposit Requirements for Registration of Claims 

to Copyright in Visual Arts Material, is a guide to material 

that should be sent when registering a claim. Circular 40a

also defines terms such as “complete copy,” “best edition,” 

and “identifying material.” The following is an outline of the 

deposit requirements.

Two-Dimensional Works

If unpublished, send one complete copy or identifying 

material.

If first published in the United States on or after January 1,

1978, generally send two complete copies of the best edition.

If first published in the United States before January

1, 1978, send two complete copies of the best edition as 

first published. Where identifying material is permitted or 

required, the identifying material must represent the work as 

first published.

If first published outside the United States before March 1, 

1989, send one complete copy of the work as first published. 

Where identifying material is permitted or required, the identifying material must represent the work as first published.

If first published outside the United States after March 1, 

1989, send one complete copy of either the first published 

edition or the best edition of the work.
Copyright Registration for Works of the Visual Arts · 4

Three-Dimensional Works and Two-Dimensional Works 

Applied to Three-Dimensional Objects

For published and unpublished works, send identifying 

material, such as photographs. Do not send the threedimensional work.

Special Provisions

For some works first published in the United States, only one 

copy is required instead of two. These include:

•	 Greeting cards, picture postcards, stationery, business

cards

•	 Games

•	 Pictorial matter or text on a box or container (where the

contents of the container are not claimed)

•	 Contributions to collective works. The deposit can be one

of the following: one complete copy of the best edition of 

the entire collective work, the complete section containing 

the contribution, the contribution cut from the collective 

work in which it appeared, or a photocopy of the contribution itself as it was published in the collective work.

For some works, identifying material is permitted, not 

required. For example, either identifying material or actual 

copies can be deposited for some unpublished works and for 

limited editions of posters or prints with certain qualifying 

conditions. 

For all works that exceed 96 inches in any dimension, 

identifying material is required.

For more information on what is permitted or required 

for registration of certain kinds of visual arts works, see the 

Copyright Office’s deposit regulations, found in sections 

202.19, 20, and 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (www.

copyright.gov/title37/202/index.html).

Deposits cannot be returned.

Registration of Two or More Works

Two or more individual works can be registered on one 

application with a single filing fee under certain circumstances.

Unpublished Works

A group of unpublished works can be registered as a collection if all the following conditions are met.

•	 The elements of the collection are assembled in an orderly

form.

•	 The combined elements bear a single title identifying the

collection as a whole.

•	 The copyright claimant or claimants for each element in

the collection are the same.

•	 All the elements are by the same author or, if they are

by different authors, at least one author has contributed 

copyrightable authorship to each element.

note: Works registered as an unpublished collection will be 

listed in the records of the Copyright Office only under the collection title.

Published Works

All copyrightable elements that are included in a single unit 

of publication and in which the copyright claimant is the 

same can be considered a single work for registration purposes. An example is a game consisting of playing pieces, 

a game board, and game instructions.

Group Registration of Published Photographs 

A single registration can be made for a group of published 

photographs if all the following conditions are met.

•	 The same photographer took all the photographs (if an

employer for hire is named as author, only one photographer’s work can be included).

•	 All the photographs were first published in the same calendar year.

•	 All the photographs have the same copyright claimant(s).

To register groups of published photographs, you can 

use Form GR/PPh/CON, available on the Copyright Office 

website under Forms. You can complete the form on your 

personal computer and print it out or print out a blank copy 

and complete it using black ink. Mail the completed form to 

the Copyright Office with the appropriate fee and deposit.

Group Registration of Contributions to Periodicals

A single registration can be made for a group of contributions to periodicals under certain conditions. Examples of 

potentially eligible works include cartoon strips, newspaper 

columns, horoscopes, photographs, drawings, and illustrations. To be eligible, all the following conditions must be met. 

•	 All the works must have the same copyright claimant.

•	 All the works must be by the same author.

•	 The author of each work must be an individual, not an

employer or other person for whom the work was made 

for hire.

•	 Each work must have been first published as a contribution to a periodical (including newspapers) within a 

12-month period.
Copyright Registration for Works of the Visual Arts · 5

•	 The application must identify each contribution separately, including the periodical containing it and the date 

of its first publication.

In addition to the above conditions, if first published 

before March 1, 1989, a contribution as first published must 

have borne a separate copyright notice, and the name of the 

owner of copyright in the work (or an abbreviation or alternative designation of the owner) must have been the same in 

each notice.

To register groups of contributions to periodicals, you can 

use Form GR/CP, available on the Copyright Office website 

under Forms. You can complete the form on your personal 

computer and print it out or print out a blank copy and 

complete it using black ink. Mail the completed form to the 

Copyright Office with the appropriate fee and deposit.

No Blanket Protection

Registration covers only the particular work deposited for the 

registration. It does not give any sort of “blanket” protection 

to other works in the same series. For example, registration 

of a single cartoon or comic strip drawing does not cover any 

earlier or later drawings. Each copyrightable version or issue 

must be registered to gain the advantages of registration for 

the new material it contains. However, as described above

under “Published Works” and “Group Registration of Contributions to Periodicals,” certain group registrations can be 

made with one application and fee.

Mandatory Deposit

Although a copyright registration is not required, the 1976 

Copyright Act establishes a mandatory deposit requirement 

for works published in the United States. In general, the 

owner of copyright or the owner of the exclusive right of 

publication in the work has a legal obligation to deposit in 

the Copyright Office within three months of publication in 

the United States two complete copies or phonorecords of 

the best edition of the work. It is the responsibility of the 

owner of copyright or the owner of the right of first publication in the work to fulfill this mandatory deposit requirement. Failure to make the deposit can result in fines and 

other penalties but does not affect copyright protection.

Some categories of pictorial, graphic, and sculptural 

works are exempt from this requirement, and the obligation is reduced for other categories. The following works are 

exempt from the mandatory deposit requirement.

•	 Scientific and technical drawings and models

•	 Greeting cards, picture postcards, and stationery

•	 Three-dimensional sculptural works, except for globes,

relief models, and similar cartographic works

•	 Works published only as reproduced in or on jewelry, toys,

games, textiles, packaging material, and any useful article

•	 Advertising material published in connection with articles

of merchandise, works of authorship, or services

•	 Works first published as individual contributions to collective works (but not the collective work as a whole)

•	 Works first published outside the United States and later

published without change in the United States, under 

certain conditions (see the Code of Federal Regulations, 

sections 202.19, 20, and 21 at www.copyright.gov/title37/

202/index.html).

Copies deposited for the Library of Congress under the 

mandatory deposit provision can also be used to register 

the claim to copyright but only if they are accompanied by 

the prescribed application and fee for registration. For more 

information about mandatory deposit, see Circular 7d, 

Mandatory Deposit of Copies or Phonorecords for the Library 

of Congress.

Moral Rights for Visual Artists

For certain one-of-a-kind visual art and numbered limited 

editions of 200 or fewer copies, authors are accorded rights 

of attribution and integrity. The right of attribution ensures 

that artists are correctly identified with the works of art they 

create and that they are not identified with works created by 

others. The right of integrity allows artists to protect their 

works against modifications and destructions that are prejudicial to the artists’ honor or reputation. These rights may 

not be transferred by the author, but they may be waived in 

a written instrument. Transfer of the physical copy of a work 

of visual art or of the copyright does not affect the moral 

rights accorded to the author.

For works of visual art incorporated in a building, special 

rules apply. If the owner of a building desires to remove such 

a work from the building and removal is possible without 

destruction, the owner is required to accord the author the 

opportunity to make the removal him or herself. A registry 

is established within the Copyright Office to record information relevant to this obligation. Both owners of buildings and 

authors of visual art incorporated in buildings can record 

statements in the registry. For more information, see Visual 

Arts Registry, Code of Federal Regulations, section 201.25 at 

www.copyright.gov/title37/201/37cfr201-25.html.
Copyright Registration for Works of the Visual Arts · 6

U.S. Copyright Office · Library of Congress · 101 Independence Avenue, SE · Washington, DC 20559-6000 · www.copyright.gov

For Further Information

By Internet

Circulars, announcements, regulations, all application forms, 

and other materials are available from the Copyright Office 

website at www.copyright.gov.

By Telephone

For general information about copyright, call the Copyright 

Public Information Office at (202) 707-3000 or 1-877-476-

0778 (toll free). Staff members are on duty from 8:30 am to 

5:00 pm, eastern time, Monday through Friday, except federal 

holidays. Recorded information is available 24 hours a day. 

To request paper application forms or circulars, call (202) 

707-9100 or 1-877-476-0778 and leave a recorded message.

By Regular Mail

Write to

Library of Congress

Copyright Office–COPUBS

101 Independence Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20559-6304

Note

1. Copyright protection extends to the design of a building created for the use of human beings. Architectural works created on 

or after December 1, 1990, or that on December 1, 1990, were either 

unconstructed or embodied only in unpublished plans or drawings are 

eligible. For details, see Circular 41, Copyright Claims in Architectural 

Works.

circular 40 reviewed: 11⁄2010 (20110705) Printed on recycled paper u.s. government printing office: 2011-xxx-xxx⁄xx,xxx