- The authorship in the separate and independent works that have been included in the serial, which may contain literary expression and/or artistic expression.
As with any other type of collective work, an applicant may register a serial together with the separate and independent works contained therein if the serial and the contributions were created by the same author and/or if the copyright in the serial and the contributions are owned by the copyright claimant.
A registration for a single issue of a serial publication covers the particular issue that has been submitted for registration, as well as any contributions that may be included within the claim. The U.S. Copyright Office does not offer “blanket registrations” that cover future issues or future contributions to that publication.
712.3 Application Tips for Serials
An applicant may register a single issue of a serial publication with an online application by selecting the option for “Single Serial Issue” in the electronic registration system. In the alternative, an applicant may submit a paper application using Form SE.
When completing an application, the applicant should provide the title that appears on the serial, as well as the volume number, issue number, and date that appears on the specific issue that is submitted for registration, as well as the frequency of publication for that serial (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, etc.). When completing an online application, an applicant may provide this information in the Title field (e.g., Home Cooking, Vol. 2, No. 17, February 2, 2013). When completing Form SE, this information should be provided in space 1. For guidance in completing these portions of the application, see Chapter 600, Section 610.
The applicant should identify the copyrightable authorship that the applicant intends to register, and the applicant should assert a claim to copyright in that material. When completing an online application, this information should be provided in the Author Created field. When completing a paper application, this information should be provided in space 2 of Form SE. For guidance on completing these portions of the application, see Chapter 600, Sections 618.4(B) and 618.7(C).
If the applicant intends to register the authorship involved in creating the serial as a whole, the applicant should assert a claim in the “compilation.”
An applicant may register a serial together with the articles, photographs, or other component works contained therein (i) if the serial and the component works were created by the same author, and/or (ii) if the copyright in the component works and the serial as a whole are owned by the copyright claimant. If the copyright in the serial and the component works are owned by different parties, separate applications for each work will be required based on the difference in ownership.
A registration for a serial will cover both the collective work as well as the component works contained therein if the serial and the component works were created by the same author and if the copyright in those works are owned by the copyright claimant. See Morris v. Business Concepts, Inc., 259 F.3d 65, 71 (2d Cir. 2001), abrogated
