Copyright Services
Obtaining a federal copyright is basically an insurance policy for your work. Copyright protection arises automatically the moment the author fixes the work in a tangible form (i.e. when a writer writes her story), without the author having to do anything. So why copyright your work if you're automatically protected?
1. Registration establishes a public record of your copyright and puts everyone in the world on notice of your copyright.
2. You cannot sue somebody for copyright infringement until you have registered your work with the Copyright Office.
3. No award for statutory damages or attorneys fees will be made for any infringement of a copyright in an unpublished work which occurs prior to registration of the copyright. The same holds true for published works, unless the registration is made within three months after the first publication.
4. If the registration of your work is done within five years from its creation, it is considered prima facie evidence in court. Prima facie evidence means that if you ever went to court, the registration of your copyright would be sufficient evidence of your ownership of the copyrighted material. The only way for another party to win would be for them to present evidence showing:
that they had a pre-existing copyright claim to the work.
that you permitted them to use your work.
that you didn't actually create the work.
that you stole it from them.
What You can Copyright Index Top
You can register your copyright for the following types of work:
fiction
plays
radio, television & movie scripts
motion pictures
videos
anything else which is intended to be performed
nonfiction
poetry
Musical works (including recordings, music, and lyrics)
newspapers & newspaper articles
magazines & magazine articles
computer software
software manuals
text advertisements
contributions to collective works
compilations
directories
catalogs
dissertations
thesis
reports
speeches
pamphlets
brochures
even single pages containing text
web sites
What you cannot Copyright Index Top
Words and short phrases such as names, titles and slogans (this includes titles to books, plays, etc.).
Ideas, plans, methods, systems, or devices, as distinguished from the specific manner in which they are expressed or described (i.e. a mere listing of ingredients can not be copyrighted, but if a recipe is accompanied by a set of directions, or when there is a collection of recipes, then there is a basis for copyright registration.).
Blank forms, such as time cards, graph paper, checks, scorecards, address books, or order forms, which are designed to record information and do not themselves convey any information.
Works, such as standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures, rulers, schedules of sporting events, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources
Categories for Copyrighting Index Top
This includes novels, books of poetry, plays (stage and screen) and other written works.
You have two submission options:
1. Email Submittal
In order to provide the best service possible, we require that if you email your written work to us, you must use Microsoft Word or WordPerfect. We also recommend that the document be single-spaced at a minimum of 10 pt. font and a maximum of 12 pt. font. Upon completion of our application form, you'll be provided with the exact information to include with your email.
2. Mail Delivery
Nothing fancy here. Try to make sure your work is printed on standard 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper. That will make handling easier.
Our fee for the first 100 pages is $54 plus the $30 Federal filing fee and $15 shipping.
Your total is $99
We charge $49 plus the $30 Federal filing fee and $15 shipping for each recording or collection that can be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.
Your total charge is $94.
Complete.
Details on regular mail delivery can be found near the bottom of this page.
Included with our service is Federal Express delivery to the U.S. Copyright Office. You may request an email proof of delivery for $5.00.
.
Complete.
For each page over 100, we charge a nominal five cents ($.05) per single-sided page.
Included with our service is Federal Express delivery to the U.S. Copyright Office.
Text with Illustrations Index Top
This includes works such as books, etc.
You have two submission options:
1. Email Submittal
As discussed under text-only, if you email your written work to us, you must use Microsoft Word or WordPerfect. If your work contains color illustrations, you should deliver via the mail option.
2. Mail Delivery
Try to make sure your work is printed on standard 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper. That will make handling easier. Of course, if your work is a non-standard size given creativity factors, send as-is. Never compromise your work.
Our fee for the first 100 pages is $49 plus the $30 Federal filing fee and $15 shipping.
Your total is $94.
Complete.
For each page over 100, we charge a nominal ten cents ($.10) per single-sided page.
Included with our service is Federal Express delivery to the U.S. Copyright Office.
Works containing graphics, photographs and/or illustrations will be printed in black & white only.
As an alternative to our printing service, you may also send your materials (via mail delivery) to our office.
Computer Programs (Software) Index Top
You have two options:
1. You can email to us the first and last 25 pages of the computer program source code.
OR
2. You can send (via mail delivery) the entire program/application as a CD-ROM. This option also requires you to send a complete copy of any accompanying operating software and instructional software AND you must still include (via separate email to us apart from the CD) the first and last 25 pages of the computer program source code. This makes for the most complete and comprehensive copyright registration of software.
Most software applications will come under the latter option, although smaller computer programs (i.e. algorithms) can certainly be supplied in text-only source version.
Our fee is $49 plus the $30 Federal filing fee and $15 shipping.
Your total is $94.
Complete.
Included with our service is Federal Express delivery to the U.S. Copyright Office.
For extra protection, we recommend that you send us two (2) copies of the CD-ROM distribution.
You have three submission options:
1. Form-based Submittal
If your web site has no more than fifteen total pages, you can use our online order form to provide those page URLs. We will then print each page and send them to the U.S. Copyright Office along with your application form.
For this option of web site copyright registration, we charge $49 plus the $30 Federal filing fee plus $15 delivery.
Your total is $94.
Complete.
Please make sure that you include the entire page name, including suffixes (i.e. "htm", "asp," etc.).
A web page is NOT the entire web site. A web page is a specific page that ends with an htm or html extension.
......................................
2. Mail Delivery of Entire Site in Print Form
Nothing fancy here. Simply print each (and every) page of your site, bundle safely, and mail to our office. Try to make sure your site is printed on standard 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper.
For this option of web site copyright registration, we charge $49 plus the $30 Federal filing fee and $15 shipping.
Your total is $94.
Complete.
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3. Mail Delivery of Entire Site on CD-ROM or Computer Disk(ette)
For large web sites, this is the best option. Simply copy your site to a CD-ROM or computer disk(ette), PLUS print five representative pages of your site, bundle safely, and mail to our office.
For this option of web site copyright registration, we charge $49 plus the $30 Federal filing fee and $15 shipping.
Your total is $94.
Complete.
This includes song recordings (with or without lyrics), spoken, and live-performance recordings.
Only one submission option here.
While we're looking at efficient electronic delivery options, uploads can take a lot of time. There's something to be said for keeping things simple. So, for now, please mail your work via mail delivery to our office. We'll take it from there. You must record your work onto Compact Disc (CD) Audio format and send to our office.
We charge $54 plus the $30 Federal filing fee and $15 shipping for each recording that you wish to have copyrighted as an individual work.
Your total charge is $99.
Complete.
Included with our service is priority mail service delivery to the U.S. Copyright Office. You may request an email proof of delivery for $9.00.
Audio-Visual (Film & Video) Index Top
Like Music, there's only one submission option here...mail.
While also we're looking at efficient electronic delivery options, uploads can take a lot of time - even with DSL and Cable modems. For now, please mail your work via mail delivery to our office. We'll take it from there.
This includes works such as feature and short films, and video productions.
We charge $54 plus the $30 Federal filing fee and $15 shipping for each recording that you wish to have copyrighted as an individual work.
Your total charge is $99.
Complete.
Included with our service is priority mail service delivery to the U.S. Copyright Office. You may request an email proof of delivery for $9.00.