For more general information about copyright, check out our Learning Engine video series. If you would like more detailed information about copyright, we invite you to read our newsletters or FAQs. For more information, please see our Compendium of Practices of the U.S. Copyright Office, Third Edition. The Compendium is the Office`s administrative manual on copyright law and our rules and practices. It educates Agency staff on its legal obligations and provides expert advice to copyright applicants, practitioners, academics, courts and members of the public on institutional practices and related legal principles. Works are original if they are created independently of a human author and have a minimum of creativity. Independent creation simply means that you create it yourself, without copying. The Supreme Court has stated that to be creative, a work must have a «spark» and «a minimum» of creativity. However, there are some things that are not creative, such as: titles, names, short sentences, and slogans; well-known symbols or designs; simple variations in typographic ornaments, lettering or colouring; and simple lists of ingredients or contents. And always remember that copyright protects expression and never ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles or discoveries. It is important to know that we are all copyright users. When we read books, watch movies, listen to music, or use video games or software, we are using copyrighted works.
Everyone is a copyright holder. Once you`ve created an original work and repaired it, such as Take a Photo, write a poem or blog, or record a new song, you`re the author and owner. Under copyright law, the author of the original expression in a work is its author. The author is also the owner of the copyright, unless there is a written agreement whereby the author transfers the copyright to another natural or legal person, for example a publisher. In the event of a rental, the customer or the customer is deemed to be the author. See Circular 30, Loans. Patents and trademarks are other types of intellectual property that may cover works and are considered separately from copyright eligibility. For example, patents granted by the government protect certain inventions or discoveries, designs of manufactured objects and plant varieties. Trademark law, on the other hand, protects words, names, symbols or devices used in trade in goods or services to indicate the origin of goods and distinguish them from the goods or services of others. For more information on these other types of intellectual property, see U.S.
Patent and Trademark Information. Copyright protects original works of authorship, while a patent protects inventions or discoveries. Ideas and discoveries are not protected by copyright, although the way they are expressed may be. A trademark protects words, phrases, symbols or designs that identify the origin of a party`s goods or services and distinguish them from those of others. Nglish: Copyright translation for Spanish speakers Your work is protected by copyright as soon as it is created and fixed in a tangible form that can be perceived directly or with the help of a machine or device. The United States has copyright relations with most countries in the world, and through these agreements, we respect the copyrights of each other`s citizens. However, the United States does not have such copyright relationships with all countries. For a list of countries and the nature of their copyright relations with the United States, see Circular 38a, U.S. International Copyright Relations. You can also use works that are in the public domain. Works in the public domain are works that are never protected by copyright (such as facts or discoveries) or works whose term of protection has expired because it has expired or the owner has not completed a previously prescribed formality.
Currently, all pre-1926 American works are in the public domain because copyright protection for those works has expired. A deposit is usually a copy (if unpublished) or two copies (if published) of the work to be registered for copyright. In some cases, such as works of art, identification material such as a photograph may be used instead. See Circular 40a, Filing Requirements for Registration of Copyright Claims in Works of Art. The deposit will be sent with the application and fees and will become the property of the Library of Congress. A copyright notice is an identifier affixed to copies of the work to inform the world about copyright. The copyright notice usually consists of the «copyright (or copr.)» symbol or word, the name of the copyright holder, and the year of first publication, for example ©. 2008 John Doe. While the use of a copyright notice was once required as a condition of copyright protection, it is now optional. Use of the notice is the responsibility of the copyright owner and does not require prior authorization or registration with the Copyright Office. See Circular 3, Copyright Notice, for requirements for works published before March 1, 1989 and for more information on the form and position of the copyright notice. There is only one place to file copyright claims in the United States: the Copyright Office.
For more information on registration benefits and procedures, please see our Copyright Registration Circular. Exceptions and limitations to copyright law under Articles 107 to 122 include fair use, the «first-sale doctrine», certain reproductions of libraries and archives, certain performances and exhibitions, cable and satellite broadcasts, to name but a few.