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People naturally want to protect great ideas. The U.S. Copyright Office provides guidance for people who want to protect their intellectual property in the form of ideas. The process takes a bit more work than having a thought, but is well worth the extra effort if the idea is worth copyrighting. more »
Everyone's seen the little "c" in the circle, and read the text that goes with it. "This work is the sole property...." It's the copyright symbol, and it's been in the news in recent years especially in stories about media piracy and the like. But what exactly does that mean, and how does someone obtain a copyright? more »
Although U.S. law states an "automatic copyright" applies once a work is created in a fixed medium, a formal copyright creates a public declaration of ownership for work of an artistic or intellectual nature. The following information is only a brief overview of the basics of obtaining a copyright. more »
Websites have become fast and efficient ways to distribute your intellectual property to a large amount of people. Your site can be your personal one-stop avenue to stream your latest musical composition, view your current gallery exhibit or read excerpts from your newest novel. But this accessibility, especially to an anonymous... more »
Current federal law grants authors of creative works copyright protection from the time their work is first created in fixed form rather than the date it is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. The "life" of a copyright is currently governed by the United States Copyright Law of 1976. This law grants copyholders the longest... more »
A copyright legally protects works of original authorship fixed in tangible form. The law protects a website's text, artwork, music, and... more »
Although "patent" and "copyright" are commonly used terms, there is some confusion about the difference between the terms and how they are used.... more »
Copyrights and trademarks fall under the purview of intellectual property law, which provides protection for creative works. Protection of... more »
Copyrights and trademarks are both considered intellectual property. Protection afforded to intellectual property under federal law is designed... more »
If you have created a website with original material, it is almost certainly entitled to copyright protection. Adding a copyright notice is only... more »
The United States Copyright Office, a part of the Library of Congress, is the official U.S. government body that maintains records of copyright registration in the United States. It is used by copyright title searchers who are attempting to clear a chain of title for copyrighted works.
The head of the Copyright Office is called the Register of Copyrights. The current Register is Marybeth Peters, who has held the office since 1994.
The Copyright Office is housed in the James Madison Memorial Building of the Library of Congress, at 101 Independence Avenue, SE, in Washington, DC.
History
The United States Constitution gives Congress the power to enact laws establishing a system of copyright in the United States, and the first federal copyright law was enacted in May 1790 (with the first work being registered within two weeks). Originally, claims were recorded by Clerks of U.S. district courts. In 1870, copyright functions were centralized in the Library of Congress under the direction of the then Librarian of Congress Ainsworth Rand Spofford. The Copyright Office became a separate department of the Library of Congress in 1897, and Thorvald Solberg was appointed the first Register of Copyrights.U.S. Copyright Office Circular 1a,
The Functions of the Copyright Office
The mission of the Copyright Office is to promote creativity by administering and sustaining an effective national copyright system. While the purpose of the copyright system has always been to promote creativity in society, the functions of the Copyright Office have grown to include the following:
Administering the copyright law
The Office examines all applications and deposits presented for registration of original and renewal copyright claims to determine their acceptability for registration under the provisions of the copyright law. The Office also records documents related to copyright ownership.
The Copyright Office records the bibliographic de read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United+States+Copyright+Office
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