Circular

1

b

40

United States Copyright Office

Copyright

Registration

for Works

of the

Visual Arts

GENERAL INFORMATION

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the

United States to the 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, to prepare derivative works, to sell or distribute copies, and to 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.

Copyright Protection Is Automatic

Under the present copyright law, which became effective

Jan. 1, 1978, a work is automatically protected by copyright

when it is created. A work is created when it is “fixed” in a

copy or phonorecord for the first time. Neither registration

in the Copyright Office nor publication is required for copyright protection under the present law.

Advantages to Copyright Registration

There are, however, certain advantages to registration, including the establishment of a public record of the copyright

claim. Copyright registration must generally be made before an infringement suit may be brought. Timely registration may also provide a broader range of remedies in an

infringement suit.

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 the

copyright notice is optional. For more information about

copyright notice, request Circular 3, “Copyright Notice.”
2

PUBLICATION

The 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 persons for purposes of further distribution or public display also constitutes publication. A

public display does not of itself constitute publication.

A work of art that exists in only one copy, such as a painting or statue, is not regarded as published when the single

existing copy is sold or offered for sale in the traditional way,

for example, 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

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.

Publication is an important concept in copyright because,

among other reasons, whether a work is published or not may

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-dimensional and threedimensional works of fine, graphic, and applied art. The

following is a list of examples of such works:1

• 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 wallcovering 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 drawings, architectural drawings or plans, blueprints, diagrams, mechanical drawings

• Weaving designs, lace designs, tapestries

1. Copyright protection extends to the design of a building created for the

use of human beings. Architectural works created on or after Dec.1, 1990, or that

on Dec. 1, 1990, were either unconstructed or embodied only in unpublished

plans or drawings are eligible. For registration of architectural works, use

Form VA. Request Circular 41, “Copyright Claims in Architectural Works,”

for more information.
3

REGISTRATION PROCEDURES

If you choose to register a claim in your work, package together the following materials in the same envelope:

1. A properly completed application form

2. A nonreturnable deposit of the work to be registered, and

3. A nonrefundable filing fee of $30* in the form of a check

or money order payable to the Register of Copyrights

with each application

*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.

Send the items to:

Library of Congress

Copyright Office

101 Independence Avenue, S.E.

Washington, D.C. 20559-6000

Application Form

Form VA is the appropriate form for registration of a work

of the visual arts. The form should be completed legibly with

black ink or type. Do not use pencil or send a carbon copy.

All pertinent information should be given on the basic application form.

If you photocopy our forms, be sure that they are legible

and printed head-to-head so that when you turn the sheet

over, the top of page 2 is directly behind the top of page 1.

Do not send two-page photocopies. The application must

bear an original signature in ink. A continuation sheet

supplied by the Copyright Office should be used only when

all necessary information cannot be recorded on the basic

form. No other attachments will be accepted. For information on ordering application forms and circulars, see “For

Further Information” on page 6 of this circular.

DEPOSIT REQUIREMENTS

Circular 40a, “Deposit Requirements for Registration of

Claims to Copyright in Visual Arts Material,” provides a basic guide about material that should be sent when registering a claim. Circular 40a also defines basic terms such as

Copyright protection for an original work of authorship

does not extend to the following:

• Ideas, concepts, discoveries, principles

• Formulas, processes, systems, methods, procedures

• Words and 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, for example, an ornamental wheel cover on

a vehicle.

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 further information,

contact the Patent and Trademark Office at Commissioner

of Patents and Trademarks, Washington, D.C. 20231 or via

the Internet at www.uspto.gov. The telephone number is

(800) 786-9199 and the TTY number is (703) 305-7785.

The automated information line is (703) 308-4357.

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.
4

“complete copy,” “best edition,” and “identifying material.”

The following is a general 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 Jan. 1,

1978, generally send two complete copies of the best

edition.

If first published in the United States before Jan. 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.

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 may be

either 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 may 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 additional information on what is permitted or required for registration of certain kinds of visual arts works,

request Circular 40a and Circular 96, Sections 202.19, 20,

and 21, which contains the deposit regulations of the

Copyright Office.

Deposits cannot be returned.

REGISTRATION FOR TWO OR MORE WORKS

WITH ONE APPLICATION AND FEE

Two or more individual works may be registered with one

application and fee as follows:

Unpublished Works

A group of unpublished works may 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 may be considered a single work for registration pur-
5

poses. An example is a game consisting of playing pieces,

a game board, and game instructions.

Group Registration of Contributions to Periodicals

A single registration may be made for a group of contributions to periodicals if all the following conditions are met.

• All the works have the same copyright claimant.

• All the works are by the same author.

• The author of each work is an individual, not an employer

or other person for whom the work was made for hire.

• Each work was first published as a contribution to a

periodical (including newspapers) within a 12-month

period.

• The application identifies 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.

Such contributions are registered on Form VA accompanied by Form GR/CP (group registration of contributions to

periodicals). Examples of works eligible for such a group

registration include cartoon strips, newspaper columns,

horoscopes, photographs, drawings, and illustrations.

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, under the conditions described above under “Published Works”

and “Group Registration of Contributions to Periodicals,” certain group registrations may be made

with one application and fee.

MANDATORY DEPOSIT FOR WORKS PUBLISHED IN

THE UNITED STATES

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 3 months of publication in the

United States two complete copies or phonorecords of the

best edition. 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 Circular 96, Sections 202.19, 20,

and 21)

Copies deposited for the Library of Congress under the

mandatory deposit provision may also be used to register

the claim to copyright but only if they are accompanied by

the prescribed application and fee for registration. For further information about mandatory deposit, request Circular

7d, “Mandatory Deposit of Copies or Phonorecords for the

Library of Congress.”
6

EFFECTIVE DATE OF REGISTRATION

A copyright registration is effective on the date the

Copyright Office receives all the required elements in

acceptable form, regardless of how long it then takes to

process the application and mail the certificate of registration. The time the Copyright Office requires to process an

application varies, depending on the amount of material the

Office is receiving.

If you apply for copyright registration, you will not receive

an acknowledgment that your application has been received (the Office receives more than 600,000 applications

annually), but you can expect

• A letter or a telephone call from a Copyright Office staff

member if further information is needed or

• A certificate of registration indicating that the work has

been registered, or if the application cannot be accepted,

a letter explaining why it has been rejected.

If you want to know the date that the Copyright Office

receives your material, send it by registered or certified mail

and request a return receipt.

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 himself. 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 may record

statements in the registry. For further information, request

Circular 96, Section 201.25, "Visual Arts Registry."

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Information via the Internet: Circulars, announcements,

regulations, other related materials, and all copyright application forms are available on the Copyright Office website

at www.copyright.gov.

Information by fax: Circulars and other information (but

not application forms) are available by using a touchtone

phone to access Fax-on-Demand at (202) 707-2600.

Information by telephone: For general information about

copyright, call the Copyright Public Information Office at

(202) 707-3000. The TTY number is (202) 707-6737. Information specialists are on duty from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,

eastern time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. Recorded information is available 24 hours a day. Or,

if you know which application forms and circulars you want,

request them 24 hours a day from the Forms and Publications Hotline at (202) 707-9100. Leave a recorded message.

Information by regular mail:

Library of Congress

Copyright Office

Publications Section, LM-455

101 Independence Avenue, S.E.

Washington, D.C. 20559-6000

Library of Congress • Copyright Office • 101 Independence Avenue, S.E. • Washington, D.C. 20559-6000

c

www.copyright.gov

Rev: June 2002 Web Rev: June 2002 E Printed on recycled paper