Copyright registration

The pre-1978 indexes to the copyright records are available for public inspection at the Library of Congress.

The purpose of copyright registration is to place on record a verifiable account of the date and content of the work in question, so that in the event of a legal claim, or case of infringement or plagiarism, the copyright owner can produce a copy of the work from an official government source.

Historically, in the United States, and a few other countries, it was a legal requirement to register a work for it to obtain copyright protection. This has now been largely superseded by international conventions, (principally the Berne Convention), which are designed to harmonise rights at an international level and preclude the need for national registration. However, the U.S. still requires registration for works of U.S. origin before the owner can pursue a claim in court, and provides legal advantages to copyrights that have been registered.

Is registration required?

It is a common misconception to confuse copyright registration with the granting of copyright.

Copyright is itself an automatic international right, governed by international conventions - principally the Berne Convention (which dates from 1886). This means that copyright exists whether a work is registered or not. When the US finally signed up to the Convention in 1989, the internal registration system was retained, but foreign works must now be treated as though already registered in the US in accordance with the Berne Convention.

Professor Larry Lessig, Representative Lofgren and others have suggested that countries impose registration requirements after the internal term of protection required by the Berne Convention.

Where can work be registered?

• In the United States, the United States Copyright Office accepts registrations. For works created in the US by US citizens, a registration is also required before an infringement suit may be filed in a US court. Furthermore, copyright holders cannot claim statutory damages or attorney's fees unless the work was registered prior to infringement, or within three months of publication.

• In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, commercial services provide a registration facility where copies of work can be lodged to establish legal evidence of a copyright claim. In the UK, there are also requirements to file certain published works with the British Library and, on request, the five legal deposit libraries.

References

• Copyright Basics (Circular 1) (PDF). U.S. Copyright Office. 2008. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
• What to look for when choosing a copyright registration facility. UK Copyright Aid. 2008. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)