Applying and Filing Copyright in the U.S. Copyright Office

nited States Copyright Office (USCO) is the competent authority for the grant of copyright protection in U.S. USCO deals with the paper and online filing of the copyright application in the USA.

Copyright is a form of intellectual property law. Copyright protects literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. Poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture can be protected under copyright law. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation however the way these things are expressed can be protected under copyright. In USA Copyright protection provided in the U.S. Constitution and granted by United States Copyright Office. Copyright is granted for both published and unpublished works.

To register copyright in USA you can apply through submitting your application to the USCO or you can use their eCO registration system which is USCO online application system for the registration of copyright in USA. There is a prescribed government fee which has to be paid to the office to complete the submission of the application.

Any work that is protected by U.S. copyright law can be registered. This includes works of foreign origin. All works that are unpublished, regardless of the nationality of the author, are protected in the United States.

Copyright protects “original works of authorship” that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a machine or device. Copyrightable works include the following categories:

  • literary works
  • musical works, including any accompanying words
  • dramatic works, including any accompanying music
  • pantomimes and choreographic works
  • pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
  • motion pictures and other audiovisual works
  • sound recordings
  • architectural works

Intellectual Property Logium assists you in applying and filing copyright in the USA.

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