Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition
- The work is a U.S. sound recording that was fixed before February 15, 1972 (i.e., the date U.S. sound recordings became eligible for federal copyright protection).
- The work is an architectural work created before December 1, 1990 (i.e., the date architectural works became eligible for federal copyright protection) or the application to register the architectural work does not otherwise meet the requirements set forth in Copyright Office regulations. See 37 C.F.R. § 202.11.
- The work is not eligible for copyright protection in the United States based on the author’s citizenship or domicile, based on the nation of first publication, or any other factor set forth in Section 104 of the Copyright Act.
- The applicant is not authorized to register a claim in the work.
- The claimant named in the application is not a proper copyright claimant.
- The work unlawfully employs preexisting material that is under copyright protection. 17 U.S.C. § 103(a).
If the applicant disagrees with the Office’s determination, the applicant may appeal that decision within the Office. This is an administrative procedure known as a request for reconsideration. For information concerning this procedure, see Chapter 1700.
609 Identifying the Work That the Applicant Intends to Register
609.1 Registration Process Overview
When completing an online application, the applicant must provide a “yes” or “no” answer to three questions concerning the work(s) that the applicant intends to register. The questions include:
- Yes or No: Are you registering one work (one song, one poem, one illustration, etc.)? Check “NO” to this question if the work is one of the following: a collection of works (such as: book of poetry, CD of songs, multiple photographs and illustrations), a collective work, website or database because these works do not qualify for the Single Application.
- Yes or No: Are you the only author and owner of the work (or the agent of the individual author who is also the only owner)? Check “NO” to this question if the work was created by multiple individuals (such as, multiple performers, artists, writers) or if any part of this work was prepared as a “work made for hire” for another entity.
- Yes or No: Does the work you are sending contain material created only by this author? Check “NO” to this question if the copy includes more than one performer, writer, artist, actor, or if it contains content or contributions by anyone else, even if the claim is limited to only the contribution by this author or the material has been licensed, permissioned or transferred to the claimant.
Chapter 600 : 37
12/22/2014
