Category: copyright

A physical or electronic embodiment of a work. A deposit copy may be on or in various media (e.g., paper, videotape, online digital code, etc.) and may consist of multiple components. A deposit copy is submitted with an application for registration and must conform to the U.S. Copyright Office’s regulations and other requirements. For copyright… Continue reading Deposit copy

A standing account with the U.S. Copyright Office from which customers can draw funds to pay for services provided by the Office.

A legal term that is based on the Latin phrase “de minimis non curat lex,” which means “the law does not take notice of very small or trifling matters.” Creative authorship is deemed “de minimis” when a work does not contain the minimal degree of original, creative expression required to satisfy the test for originality… Continue reading De minimis

1) For the recordation of transfers of copyright ownership and other documents pertaining to copyright under Section 205 of Title 17 of the United States Code, “the date of recordation is the date when a proper document under [37 C.F.R. § 201.4(c)] and a proper fee under paragraph (d) of this section [37 C.F.R. §… Continue reading Date of recordation

For purposes of copyright registration, a database is defined as a compilation of digital information comprised of data, information, abstracts, images, maps, music, sound recordings, video, other digitized material, or references to a particular subject or subjects. In all cases, the content of a database must be arranged in a systematic manner and it must… Continue reading Database

“A work is ‘created’ when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time; where a work is prepared over a period of time, the portion of it that has been fixed at any particular time constitutes the work as of that time, and where the work has been prepared in different… Continue reading Created

A term used to describe a work that is original and sufficiently creative to be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.

A statement placed on copies or phonorecords of a work to inform the public that a copyright owner is claiming ownership of the particular work. A copyright notice consists of three elements: The copyright symbol © (or for phonorecords, the symbol Ⓟ), the word “Copyright”, or the abbreviation “Copr.”; The year of first publication of… Continue reading Copyright notice

A physical archive located at the U.S. Copyright Office that may be used to search for completed registrations and recorded documents made before January 1, 1978.

“‘Copies’ are material objects, other than phonorecords, in which a work is fixed by any method now known or later developed, and from which the work can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. The term ‘copies’ includes the material object, other than a phonorecord,… Continue reading Copies