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Step 1
Is the work ineligible for copyright protection? Not all works can be copyrighted. Titles, names, short phrases, ideas, methods and concepts cannot be copyrighted. Works composed entirely of common-property information with no original authorship also cannot be copyrighted.
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Step 2
Is the work fixed in a tangible form of expression? For an original work to be copyrighted, it must be fixed in either print or a form that is communicated with a machine or device. This includes literary works, musical works, pictures, movies, audio recordings and software.
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Step 3
Is the work in the public domain? Some works are no longer protected by copyright. In the US, these include all works published before 1923 and works published through 1977 without a copyright notice. Some copyrighted works are released under a Creative Commons license, which permits free use under specified conditions.
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Step 4
Does the work have a copyright notice? Physically examine the work for a copyright notice, place and date of publication, author's name, or publisher. For recorded works, examine the disk, cartridge or cassette as well as its cover or container.
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Step 5
Search the "Catalog of Copyright Entries." This was published in print from 1891 to 1978 and on microfiche from 1979 to 1982. Copies of the catalog can be found in many US. libraries. Works from 1978 to the present can be found via the Internet at the Library of Congress's automated catalog.
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Step 6
Ask the Copyright Office to search its records. Copyright law can get complicated, and even if your search up to this point finds no evidence of copyright, the work in question may still be protected by law. Email copysearch@loc.gov for more information.
