Whether one registers or not, copies of most copyrighted works published in the U. S. must be deposited with the U.S. Copyright Office, Washington, D.C. 20559. However, there are many exceptions to the deposit requirement. If the work is a compositite of art elements and text or the art is distributed only in machine readable form, one should check Section 202.19 of Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations, available in many public libraries, or see the Copyright Office website. In any event, sanctions for failure to deposit are not imposed until a copyright owner fails to respond to an official demand for copies. The Registration Process.
Registration is straight-forward and inexpensive.
Simple forms, containing basic instructions, may be quickly obtained from the Copyright Office. While deposit copies are not required for works of visual art, registration requires the submission of identifying material. For example, one might send a photograph of a large and unique sculpture or an expensive lithograph. These and other requirements are set forth in Section 202.20 of Title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Before taking advantage of this provision, however, one should inquire as to the position of the Copyright Office should some of the individual items later be separately published.