Library of Congress. Copyright Office

“ MANDATORY DEPOSIT FOR WORKS PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES Although a copyright registration is not required, the Copyright Act establishes a mandatory deposit requirement for works published in the United States. See the definition of "publication." In general, the owner of copyright or the owner of the exclusive right of publication in the work has a legal obligation to deposit in the Copyright Office, within 3 months of publication in the United States, two copies (or in the case of sound recordings, two phonorecords) for the use of the Library of Congress. ”

“ The copyright claimant is defined in Copyright Office regulations as either the author of the work or a person or organization that has obtained ownership of all the rights under the copyright initially belonging to the author. This category includes a person or organization who has obtained by contract the right to claim legal title to the copyright in an application for copyright registration. ”

“ The reports also state that it is clear that any form of dissemination in which the material object does not change hands, for example, performances or displays on television, is *not* a publication no matter how many people are exposed to the work. ”

“ Copyright is a personal property right, and it is subject to the various state laws and regulations that govern the ownership, inheritance, or transfer of personal property as well as terms of contracts or conduct of business. ”

“ Innocent infringement occurs when the infringer did not realize that the work was protected.
The use of the copyright notice is the responsibility of the copyright owner and does not require advance permission from, or registration with, the Copyright Office. ”

“ The Copyright Public Information Office is open to the public 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, eastern time, except federal holidays. The office is located in the Library of Congress, James Madison Memorial Building, Room 401, at 101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C., near the Capitol South Metro stop. Information specialists are available to answer questions, provide circulars, and accept applications for registration. Access for disabled individuals is at the front door on Independence Avenue, S.E.
The Copyright Office is not permitted to give legal advice. ”

“ If you wish to register the work, you must deposit additional copies or phonorecords with your application and fee.
Renewal Registration
To register a renewal, send:
1. A properly completed application Form RE and, if necessary, Form RE Addendum, and
2. A nonrefundable filing fee of $45 without Addendum; $60 with Addendum for each application. (See Note above.) Each Addendum form must be accompanied by a deposit representing the work being reviewed. See Circular 15, "Renewal of Copyright." ”

“ Form GR/CP [http://www.loc.gov/copyright/forms/formgrcp.pdf]
an adjunct application to be used for registration of a group of contributions to periodicals in addition to an application Form TX, PA, or VA
*** How to Obtain Application Forms
See "For Further Information" below.
You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader (R) [http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html] installed on your computer to view and print the forms accessed on the Internet. ”

“ To subscribe, send a message to [email protected]. In the body of the message say: SUBSCRIBE USCOPYRIGHT. You will receive a standard welcoming message indicating that your subscription to *NewsNet* has been accepted. ”