The only exception to this rule is when a work has been created as part of one's job, and one has been paid to create the work. In that case, the copyright belongs to the employer. Copyright A work does not have to be registered with the copyright office in order to be protected under copyright law. However, there are limits on the damages that the owner of a copyright may seek when the copyright has been violated, and those limits are more strict when the work has not been registered. Registering copyright with the U. S. Copyright Office is easy to do.
Different forms are available for media, whether printed, electronic, or other.
Current fees are fixed until June 30, 2002. The fair use doctrine is the single exception to the copyright owner's exclusive control over material. This exception allows journalists to publish critical reviews, and gives educators and researchers a certain amount of freedom to quote or copy without permission. For this reason, you can freely use many kinds of copyrighted materials in class. It appears that provisions of the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act may limit Fair Use, but courts have not tested these limits.