Frequently Asked Questions - Copyright

Books and written works, music, videos, photographs, three dimensional works of art, choreography, ad copy, operating instructions, games and game boards, architectural works, software and any other original works of authorship.

You send the copyright office the proper application form, fee and either one or two copies of your work or identifying material. For example: a photograph of a three-dimensional object.

Copyright protection attaches when the work is fixed in a tangible medium. Once this occurs, one can put a copyright notice on it without registration.  There are benefits to applying for and obtaining a copyright registration. 

If you have a registration before someone infringes on one of your rights in copyright, you then can file a lawsuit in Federal Court for copyright infringement.  The registration can allow statutory damages for the infringement, and it’s possible to obtain attorney fees.  This can be a big incentive for a litigator to take the case and a big stick to obtain damages for the infringement.

The owner or those authorized by the owner have the following rights to:

• reproduce the work in copies or photo records;
• prepare derivative works based upon the work;
• distribute copies or photo records of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
• perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
• display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work; and
• perform the work publicly (in the case of sound recordings) by means of a digital audio transmission.
• Certain authors of works of visual art also have the rights of attribution and integrity.