Library of Congress · U.S.Copyright Office · 101 Independence Ave SE · Washington,DC20559-6000 · www.copyright.gov

fl-124 reviewed: 09/ 2012 Printed on recycled paper U.S. Government Printing Office: 2012-xxx-xxx/xx,xxx

7 Group Registration of 

Published Photographs 

Copyright Office fees are subject to change. For current fees, please check the 

Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov, write the Copyright Office, or call 

(202) 707‐3000.

fl-124

Claims to copyright in published and unpublished photographs can be registered in the 

Copyright Office. This form letter describes the methods available for applying to register 

groups of published photographs, including contributions to periodicals. For details about 

how to register single published and unpublished photographs, collections of unpublished 

photographs, and photographs published together in a unit, such as in a calendar or a book, 

see fl-107, Copyright Registration of Photographs. For complete details about application pro‐

cedures, fees, and deposit requirements, see Circular 1, Copyright Basics; Circular 40, Copyright 

Registration for Works of the Visual Arts; and Circular 40a, Deposit Requirements for Registration 

of Claims to Copyright in Visual Arts Material.

Publication · Under copyright law, publication is the distribution of copies of a work—in this 

case, a photograph—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. However, a public display of a photograph does 

not in itself constitute publication.

The definition of publication in the U.S. copyright law does not specifically address online 

transmission. The Copyright Office therefore asks applicants, who know the facts surrounding 

distribution of their works, to determine whether works are published. 

Groups of Published Photographs · A group of published photographs can be registered on 

a single form with a single fee if (a) all the photographs are by the same photographer (if an 

employer for hire is named as author, only one photographer’s work can be included); (b) all 

the photographs are published in the same calendar year; and (c) all the photographs have the 

same copyright claimant.

You can use Form GR/PPh/CON, which includes Form VA (visual arts application), to regis‐

ter groups of published photographs. It is available on the Copyright Office’s website at www.

copyright.gov. If you use Form GR/PPh/CON, you can apply to register up to 750 photographs 

on a single application. If you would like to register more than 750 photographs, you can do so 

with a single filing fee using Form VA if you identify the date of publication for each photo‐

graph on the images deposited with the application.

note: For information about the Office’s pilot program for electronic registration of groups of published photographs, see sl-39.

Published Contributions to Periodicals · Photographs published in periodicals (newspapers or 

magazines) in any 12-month period can be combined on Form GR/CP, which includes Form 

VA, and submitted with a single filing fee. Form GR/CP is available on the Office’s website. 

Special rules apply: (a) the same individual author must have created all the photos; (b) no 

employer for hire can be named as author; (c) all the photos must have been published as con‐

tributions to periodicals within a 12-month period; and (d) all the photos must have the same 

copyright claimant. 2