U.S. citizens are people who are citizens in accordance with the U.S. Constitution or federal statutes, including (i) people born in Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico; and (ii) certain people who are by federal statute nationals, but not citizens of the United States, including people born in the outlying possessions of the United States. All U.S. citizens are also U.S. nationals. Works by U.S. citizens and nationals are not considered foreign works, and generally they are eligible for U.S. copyright protection.
The types of works that may be protected under the Copyright Act include literary works; musical works, including any accompanying words; dramatic works, including any accompanying music; pantomimes and choreographic works; pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; motion pictures and other audiovisual works; sound recordings; and architectural works; as well as derivative works, compilations, and collective works. For a definition and discussion of these types of works, see Chapter 500, Sections 507 (Derivative Works), 508 (Compilations), and 509 (Collective Works), and Chapters 700 (Literary Works), 800 (Works of the Performing Arts), and 900 (Visual Art Works).
2002.2 Are Foreign Works Treated Differently?
Previously, many foreign works were not eligible for copyright protection in the United States. The law, however, has been amended several times and now, in the vast majority of cases, foreign works may be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Foreign works must still satisfy the Copyright Act's eligibility requirements, which are discussed in Section 2003.
U.S. law applies to United States works and foreign works if the work becomes involved in litigation in this country. U.S. law requires that U.S. works be registered (or officially refused registration) before they can be the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit, and the registration must be made in a timely manner for attorney's fees and statutory damages to be available. Non-U.S. works need not be registered (or refused registration) to be the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit, although timely registration is still required for attorney's fees and statutory damages.
2003 Eligibility Requirements: How to Determine if a Foreign Work Is Eligible for Registration with the U.S. Copyright Office
Section 104 of the Copyright Act sets forth the categories of foreign works that are eligible for copyright protection under U.S. law. This Section describes each of these categories.
2003.1 Unpublished Works
All unpublished works are subject to protection under the Copyright Act. 17 U.S.C. § 104(a). Therefore, unpublished foreign works are eligible for registration with the U.S. Copyright Office without any further analysis. For a detailed explanation of when a work is considered published, see Chapter 1900.
2003.2 Published Works
The Copyright Act protects many published foreign works. Specifically, Section 104(b) of the Copyright Act specifies the categories of published works that are eligible for
Chapter 2000 : 5
12/22/2014
