20
U.S. Constitution, art I, § 8.
U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 106 (2013).
Perhaps most important is the “restoration” of the copyrights in many works that had entered the public domain in the United
States. For example, copyright in a 1940 book might have expired in 1968 due to failure to renew. For many foreign works, the
U.S. was required under treaties to “restore” those copyrights, starting in 1996. U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 104A (2013).
U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 102(a) (2013).
U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 103 (2013).
Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Services, 499 U.S. 340 (1991).
U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 102(a) (2013).
Although registration is not required for copyright protection, the law offers incentives to registration. Registration is generally
required before filing an infringement lawsuit, although that is often procedural step that can be undertaken when needed. U.S.
Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 411(a) (2013). Statutory damages and attorney fees may be recovered only if the work had been
registered with the U.S. Copyright Office before the infringement took place. U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 412 (2013).
Without timely registration, you will not get the fullest benefits of legal protection. Do not confuse “registration” with
“renewal.” Renewal was a similar filing with the U.S. Copyright Office that was required under previous law to extend the term
of copyright protection.
This requirement generally applies to works first published in the U.S. or unpublished works created by a U.S. author. U.S.
Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 411(a) (2013). The concept of “United States work” is defined at U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §
101 (2013).
U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 412 (2013).
Under copyright law, a work can be in the public domain, but its use may be limited for other reasons. For example, private
correspondence or journals may have privacy implications, and you may be using research collections, databases, and software
under the terms of a contract you may have entered. This manual addresses only the copyright issues.
U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 102(b) (2013).
U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 105 (2013).
U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 104 (2013).
See U.S. Copyright Office, International Copyright Relations of the United States, Circular 38a (Washington, D.C., 2010)
(available at http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ38a.pdf).
The Bridgeman Art Library, Ltd. v. Corel Corp., 36 F. Supp.2d 191 (S.D.N.Y. 1999).
Bridgeman, 36 F.Supp.2d at 197.
U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 203 (2013).
See U.S. Constitution, art I, § 8. See also, U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 302(a) (2013).
U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 302(a) (2013).
The concept of “works made for hire” is defined in somewhat technical detail in the U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 101
(2013).
U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 302(c) (2013).
Id.
See U.S. Copyright Office, Duration of Copyright, Circular 15a (Washington, D.C., 2011) (available at
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ15a.pdf).
U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 303(a) (2013).
Id.
See U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright Office Fees, Circular 4 (Washington, D.C., 2012): 2-3 (available at
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ04.pdf).
See U.S. Copyright Office, How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work, Circular 22 (Washington, D.C., 2013)
(available at http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ22.pdf).
The Copyright Review Management Systems projects are listed here: http://www.lib.umich.edu/copyright-office-
mpublishing/projects.
For details about this initiatives, visit the websites at www.hathitrust.org and www.archive.org.
U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 107 (2013).
Sundeman v. The Seajay Society, Inc., 142 F.3d 194, 203-04 (4th Cir. 1998)
Salinger v. Random House, Inc., 811 F.2d 90 (2d Cir. 1987).
Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569, 578-79 (1994).
Warren Publishing Co. v. Spurlock, 645 F.Supp. 2d 402 (E.D. Penn. 2009).
Bill Graham Archives v. Dorling Kindersley Ltd., 448 F.3d 605, 613 (2d Cir. 2006).
Id.
New Era Publications Intl. v. Carol Pub. Group, 904 F.2d 152, 157 (2d Cir. 1990).
Sundeman, 142 F.3d at 206.
New Era Publications Intl., 904 F.2d at 157.