COMPENDIUM: Chapter 900
Visual Art Works
901 What This Chapter Covers
This Chapter covers issues related to the examination and registration of visual art works. Visual art works include a wide variety of pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works and architectural works, which are discussed in more detail below.
• For a general overview of the registration process, see Chapter 200.
• For a general discussion of copyrightable authorship, see Chapter 300.
• For a discussion of who may file an application, see Chapter 400.
• For guidance in identifying the work that the applicant intends to register, see Chapter 500.
• For guidance in completing the fields/spaces of a basic application, see Chapter 600.
• For guidance on the filing fee, see Chapter 1400.
• For guidance on submitting the deposit copy(ies), see Chapter 1500.
The U.S. Copyright Office uses the term "visual art works" and "works of the visual arts" to collectively refer to the types of works listed in Sections 903.1 and 903.2 below. This Chapter does not discuss "works of visual art," which is a specific class of works that are eligible for protection under the Visual Artists Rights Act. See 17 U.S.C. § 101 (definition of "work of visual art"], 106A. For a definition of this term and for information concerning the Visual Arts Registry for such works, see Chapter 2300, Section 2314.
Likewise, this Chapter does not discuss the registration and examination of mask works or vessel designs, which are examined by the Visual Arts Division of the U.S. Copyright Office. For information on the registration and examination of mask works, and vessel designs, see Chapters 1200 and 1300.
902 Visual Arts Division
The U.S. Copyright Office's Visual Arts Division ("VA"] handles the examination and registration of all visual art works. The registration specialists in VA have experience reviewing a variety of visual art works and specialize in these particular types of work.
903 What Is a Visual Art Work?
For purposes of registration, the U.S. Copyright Office defines visual art works as (i) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, and (if) architectural works.
Chapter 900 : 5
12/22/2014
