Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition
will determine the options for describing the authorship that the applicant intends to register on the Author Created and Limitation of Claim screens. Once a selection has been made, the Type of Work field cannot be changed without starting a new application.
- Select Literary Work if the work is a nondramatic literary work, such as fiction, nonfiction, poetry, an individual article, a textbook, a reference work, a directory, a catalog, advertising copy, a compilation of information, a computer program, a textual work made available online, or a database.
- Select Work of the Visual Arts if the work is a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work, including a two-dimensional or a three-dimensional work of fine, graphic, or applied art, a photograph, a print, an art reproduction, a map, a technical drawing, or an architectural work.
- Select Work of the Performing Arts if the work is a musical work (either with or without lyrics), a dramatic work (such as a screenplay, play, or other script), a pantomime, or a choreographic work.
- Select Sounding Recording if the work contains sound recording authorship and if the applicant intends to register that element of the work (even if the work also contains other types of authorship, such as music or lyrics). If the applicant does not intend to register sound recording authorship, the applicant should not select this option (even if the work happens to contain one or more sound recordings). Likewise, the applicant should not select this option if the applicant intends to register the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work.
- Select Motion Picture/Audiovisual Work if the work is a feature film, documentary film, animated film, television show, video, videogame, or other audiovisual work, such as a slide presentation. Likewise, this option is appropriate if the applicant intends to register the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work.
- Select Single Serial Issue if the applicant intends to register a single issue of a serial publication (e.g., a single issue of a magazine, a single volume of a journal, etc.). If the applicant intends to register an individual article, photograph, or other contribution to a serial publication, the applicant should select the appropriate form of authorship for that work. For example, if the contribution is an article, the application should select Literary Work, and if the contribution is a photograph, the applicant should select Work of the Visual Arts.
NOTE: It is also possible to register a group of serials or a group of contributions to a periodical with one application, one filing fee, and deposit copy(ies). For a discussion of these group registration options, see Chapter 1100, Sections 1109 and 1115.
609.2(B) Paper Applications
Identifying the type of work that will be submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office is the first step in completing a paper application. The Office has prescribed five basic classes of
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