Produced by George DavisCopyright Basics Circular 1US Copyright Office  Library of CongressCopyright  BasicsSeptember 2000Copyright BasicsSee Format Note at end of documentTable of Contents   What Is Copyright   Who Can Claim Copyright   Copyright and National Origin of the Work   What Works Are Protected   What Is Not Protected by Copyright   How to Secure Copyright   Publication   Notice of Copyright     Form of Notice for Visually Perceptible Copies     Form of Notice for Phonorecords of Sound Recordings     Position of Notice     Publications Incorporating US Government Works     Unpublished Works     Omission of Notice and Errors in Notice   How Long Copyright Protection Endures   Transfer of Copyright     Termination of Transfers   International Copyright Protection   Copyright Registration   Registration Procedures     Original Registration     Special Deposit Requirements     Unpublished Collections   Effective Date of Registration   Corrections and Amplifications of Existing Registrations   Mandatory Deposit for Works Published in the United States   Use of Mandatory Deposit to Satisfy Registration Requirements   Who May File an Application Form   Application Forms   Fillin Forms   Fees   Search of Copyright Office Records   For Further InformationWHAT IS COPYRIGHTCopyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the UnitedStates title 17 US Code to the authors of original works ofauthorship including literary dramatic musical artistic andcertain other intellectual works This protection is available to bothpublished and unpublished works Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Actgenerally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and toauthorize others to do the following   To reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords   To prepare derivative works based upon the work   To distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by    sale or other transfer of ownership or by rental lease or    lending   To perform the work publicly in the case of literary musical    dramatic and choreographic works pantomimes and motion pictures    and other audiovisual works   To display the copyrighted work publicly in the case of literary    musical dramatic and choreographic works pantomimes and    pictorial graphic or sculptural works including the individual    images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work and   In the case of sound recordings to perform the work publicly by    means of a digital audio transmissionIn addition certain authors of works of visual art have the rights ofattribution and integrity as described in Title 17 Chap 1 Section 106aCircular 92 of the 1976 Copyright Act For further informationrequest Copyright Registration for Works of the Visual Artshttpwwwlocgovcopyrightcircscirc40pdfIt is illegal for anyone to violate any of the rights provided by thecopyright law to the owner of copyright These rights however are notunlimited in scope  Title 17 Chap 1 of the 1976 Copyright Actestablish limitations on these rights In some cases these limitationsare specified exemptions from copyright liability One major limitationis the doctrine of fair use which is given a statutory basis in Title17 Chap1 Section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act In other instancesthe limitation takes the form of a compulsory license under whichcertain limited uses of copyrighted works are permitted upon payment ofspecified royalties and compliance with statutory conditions Forfurther information about the limitations of any of these rightsconsult the copyright law or write to the Copyright OfficeWHO CAN CLAIM COPYRIGHTCopyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixedform The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes theproperty of the author who created the work Only the author or thosederiving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyrightIn the case of works made for hire the employer and not the employee isconsidered to be the author  Title 17 Chap 1 Sec 101 of thecopyright law defines a work made for hire as   1 a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her        employment or   2 a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as     a contribution to a collective work     a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work     a translation     a supplementary work     a compilation     an instructional text     a test     answer material for a test     a sound recording     an atlasif the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by themthat the work shall be considered a work made for hireThe authors of a joint work are coowners of the copyright in the workunless there is an agreement to the contraryCopyright in each separate contribution to a periodical or othercollective work is distinct from copyright in the collective work as awhole and vests initially with the author of the contributionTwo General Principles   Mere ownership of a book manuscript painting or any other copy or    phonorecord does not give the possessor the copyright The law    provides that transfer of ownership of any material object that    embodies a protected work does not of itself convey any rights in    the copyright   Minors may claim copyright but state laws may regulate the business    dealings involving copyrights owned by minors For information on    relevant state laws consult an attorneyCOPYRIGHT AND NATIONAL ORIGIN OF THE WORKCopyright protection is available for all