The U.S. Copyright Office may accept any of the terms listed below or any combination of those terms that are not redundant or duplicative (e.g., “text” and “computer program” when support for each term is nonexistent), provided that they accurately describe the copyrightable authorship being claimed. In some cases, the Office may accept variant forms of these terms. If the statement provided in the Nature of Authorship space is contradicted by the information provided in the deposit copy(ies) or elsewhere in the registration materials, the registration specialist will communicate with the applicant.
For a definition and discussion of the following terms, see Section 618.4(C). For representative examples that demonstrate how to complete the Nature of Authorship space, see Section 618.4(D).
Literary Works / Form TX
- Text
- Photograph(s)
- Artwork
- Computer program
- Compilation
Works of the Visual Arts / Form VA. When completing a paper application using Form VA, the applicant should check one or more of the boxes in space 2 that accurately describe the authorship that the applicant intends to register. The options include:
- 2-dimensional artwork
- Photograph(s)
- 3-dimensional sculpture
- Architectural work
- Jewelry design
- Map
- Technical drawing
- Reproduction of work of art
- Text
Works of the Performing Arts / Form PA
- Music
- Lyrics
- Text
- Musical arrangement
- Script
- Screenplay
- Choreographic work
- Pantomime
Sound Recordings / Form SR
- Sound recording
- Performance
- Production
- Music
- Lyrics
