INSTRUCTIONS: FORM SE/GROUP

Serial publications, defined as periodicals published once a week or further apart, can be registered for copyright as a group with a Form SE/Group. Those who wish to register every periodical publication separately must use a Form SE instead. Both of these forms can be obtained from the website of the United States Copyright Office.

Form SE/Group Step 1: Section 1 is where information about the periodical in question must be listed. To qualify for this form of group copyright, all issues listed on one application must have been published within 90 days of each other within the same calendar year. Furthermore, each copyright application must be made by the same claimant and the issues must consist of "work for hire," i.e. work that was explicitly contracted for use by the periodical.

Form SE/Group Step 2: Where indicated, write the title of the periodical and its International Standard Serial Number (ISSN). Publications which do not have an ISSN may request one from the National Serials Data Program division of the Library of Congress.

Form SE/Group Step 3: Where indicated, write the volume, issue number, the date on the cover of every issue, and the month, date and year on which the periodical was published.

Form SE/Group Step 4: Under "Section 2," write the name of the author or collective claimant (such as the publishing organization) which is seeking copyright status. If the person or organization seeking copyright is not based in America, they must list the country in which they are citizens, the country where their residence is located, and the country in which the periodical was published.

Form SE/Group Step 5: The person seeking periodical should print and sign their name where indicated.

Form SE/Group Step 6: Enter the name, phone number, and address of the person who should be contacted with any questions about this copyright claim.

Form SE/Group Step 7: Mail the application to the address listed at the bottom of the page along with one copy of every issue described therein. This application cannot be submitted online. A check or money order for $65 should be included for the filing fee. 

INSTRUCTION: FORM SR

All sound recordings of musical or spoken word projects and related creative works can be copyrighted with use of the Form SR. The only exception noted by the United States Copyright Office concerns audio that is part of a project that also has a visual component, such as a tape which accompanies a film strip. You may obtain a copy of the Form SR from the website of the United States Copyright Office.

Form SR Step 1: In section one, record the title of the work. You may list the contents in the space provided or on a continuation sheet if you wish, such as the track listing of an album.

Form SR Step 2: Section two records information concerning the authors. In the case of audio recordings, the Copyright Office finds a distinction between those responsible for the sound and those responsible for recording it. Each author should have their name and birth/death dates unless they wish to be anonymous or pseudonymous. However, in any case their country of citizenship and place where they maintain a house should be recorded. Under "nature of authorship," note a contribution such as "music" or "producer."

Form SR Step 3: In section 3, note the date on which creation of the work was concluded. If the audio recording has been previously published, record the date and country as well.

Form SR Step 4: In section four, enter the name and address of the person filing for a claim of copyright. If a non-author filing a copyright claim, include a brief explanation concerning the means by which you obtained this right.

Form SR Step 5: If your work was unpublished and copyrighted previously, has been altered since being previously copyrighted, or this is the first time the author has sought copyright, note this in section five.

Form SR Step 6: In section 6a, describe any preexisting material that is part of the recording being registered. In section 6b, describe how it has been modified. For example, it may have been substantially remixed or had new lyrics added.

Form SR Step 7: Record your address or deposit number already if already established with the Copyright Office in section 7. Sign and date section 8.

Form SR Step 9: Review instructions at top of form to determine how many copies to submit of the work.

INSTRUCTIONS: ADJUNCT APPLICATION FOR COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION FOR A GROUP OF VISUAL ARTS CONTRIBUTIONS TO PERIODICALS (Form GR/CP)

A Form GR/CP helps consolidate the process of obtaining copyright for multiple works published in separate periodicals over a period lasting no longer than a year. Those who wish to obtain a copyright for photographs, comic strips, diagrams and other visual art contributions should submit a Form GR/CP along with a Form VA, which is used to process such work. This article discusses this type of application, which can be made by downloading both forms from the website of the United States Copyright OFfice.

Adjunct Application For Copyright Registration For A Group Of Visual Arts Contributions To Periodicals GR/CP Step 1: Make sure that the visual arts contributions you wish to seek copyright for were all published within a year of each other. Separate applications must be submitted for works which were published more than a year apart.

Adjunct Application For Copyright Registration For A Group Of Visual Arts Contributions To Periodicals GR/CP Step 2: Fill out Form GR/CP first. Under Section A, check the box next to "Form VA" to indicate that you have attached that form.

Adjunct Application For Copyright Registration For A Group Of Visual Arts Contributions To Periodicals GR/CP Step 3: Under Section B, you may list up to 19 visual arts contributions. Obtain additional Forms GR/CP if this is not enough space to list all the contributions published within a year of each other. Information that must be includes the date of the publication of every contribution, the title of every piece, and the pages of each periodical on which they appeared.

Adjunct Application For Copyright Registration For A Group Of Visual Arts Contributions To Periodicals GR/CP Step 4: Complete form VA as directed by the regular instructions. However, under "Section 1," do not list the titles again. Instead, write "See Form GR/CP attached" to indicate that all applicable information is contained here.

Adjunct Application For Copyright Registration For A Group Of Visual Arts Contributions To Periodicals GR/CP Step 5: Clip both forms together and mail them to the Copyright Office at the address indicated, along with the appropriate copies of each work you are seeking copyright for. 

INSTRUCTIONS: FORM VA

Works of visual art can be copyrighted with form VA. This covers a variety of creative visual products, such as fine art, graphic art and sculpture. Utilitarian work can only be copyrighted if its design features can be fully separated from its useful aspects. The website of the United States Copyright Office has copies of this application available.

Form VA Step 1: Include the title of the work in section one. If you are copyrighting a work of architecture which has been constructed, you should include the date. If an architectural work has not yet been constructed, write "not yet constructed" next to the title. Provide a brief description of the work, such as "oil painting."

Form VA Step 2: Section two is for the names of authors who have created the work. If you need to register the names of more than two authors, obtain a continuation sheet. While anyone is free to register the work anonymously or under a pseudonym, they must include the country of their citizenship and where they reside. There are nine categories listed for "nature of authorship." Check the one which best applies to the contribution of the author in question.

Form VA Step 3: In section three, record the year in which work on this visual art was completed, as well as the first date of publication, if any.

Form VA Step 4: The copyright claimant's name and mailing address should be entered in section four, along with an explanation if the person making the claim is not the author.

Form VA Step 5: If the work has been previously registered as an unpublished work, in a form which has since been updated and substantially revised, or was previously registered by someone else than the author, this should be noted in section 5.

Form VA Step 6: If the work is derivative of any previous work, note this in section 6a and explain what is substantially different in the work currently seeking copyright. Otherwise, skip this section.

Form VA Step 7: Enter the address where any correspondence can be set. If you already have a deposit account with the United States Copyright Office, enter it here as well.

Form VA Step 8: Check the box describing what form of copyright claimant you are, then sign and date the form.

INSTRUCTIONS: APPLICATION FOR COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION (Form CO)

Anyone who makes a creative or artistic work may register it with the United States Copyright Office for various periods of time. To apply for this copyright, you must complete an Application For Copyright Registration (Form CO). This form can be obtained from the website of the United States Copyright Office.

Application for Copyright Registration CO Step 1: Section one deals with a description of the work being registered. Indicate whether the work is literary, visual, performing arts, audiovisual, a sound recording, or a "single serial work" such as a newspaper or journal by checking the box to the correct description. You must also include the title and year work was completed. If you are registering a serial work, provide information about the volume, number, issue and number of pages within. All other fields are optional.

Application for Copyright Registration CO Step 2: Section two is for author information. You must provide either a personal or organizational name, indicate whether your citizenship and home are in the United States or elsewhere, and select what your contribution was from the options listed. All other fields are optional.

Application for Copyright Registration CO Step 3: Section three is for information about the person or organization claiming copyright. Their address must be provided unless the claimant's address is unknown. In this case, write "not known" in the city and state fields. If the claimant is not the author, they must explain how they came in possession of the right to copyright.

Application for Copyright Registration CO Step 4: Section four is optional if all parts of the work are new. Otherwise, note any old material that is not part of the copyright claim.

Application for Copyright Registration CO Step 5: Sections five, six and seven request the addresses for who to contact about rights and permissions, correspondence and where to mail the certificate. The same address provided for the first copyright claimant can be copied for all three or as many separate addresses as necessary can be provided.

Application for Copyright Registration CO Step 6: Print and sign your name in section eight, along with the date. If you have a deposit account set up with the United States Copyright Office, you may enter it here as well. 

INSTRUCTIONS: ADJUNCT APPLICATION FOR COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION FOR A GROUP OF CONTRIBUTIONS TO PERIODICALS (Form GR/CP)

People who wish to copyright a group of creative works which appeared in different periodicals will wish to file an Adjunct Application For Copyright Registration For A Group Of Contributions To Periodicals. This Form GR/CP must be submitted along with another copyright application for a Form TX (for literary work), Form VA (visual arts) or Form PA (performing arts as appropriate). The contributions in questions must all have been written by the same person and published within a year of each other. This article discusses registering literary works. All these forms can be obtained from the website of the United States Copyright Office.

Adjunct Application For Copyright Registration For A Group Of Contributions To Periodicals GR/CP Step 1: Fill out the Form TX. Check off which you are submitting under Section A.

Adjunct Application For Copyright Registration For A Group Of Contributions To Periodicals GR/CP Step 2: Under Section B, enter all information requested for every separate contribution, including the initial date of publication, name of the contribution, the volume and number of the periodical in which it was published, the page numbers of the article, and the country where the work was first published. 19 slots are available. If you need to describe more contributions, attach additional Form GR/CPs as necessary.

Adjunct Application For Copyright Registration For A Group Of Contributions To Periodicals GR/CP Step 3:  Begin filling out the Form TX. Under section 1, do not list the titles of the works being registered. Instead, write "See Form GR/CP attached" in this space.

Adjunct Application For Copyright Registration For A Group Of Contributions To Periodicals GR/CP Step  4: Under section 2, list all information requested about the author.

Adjunct Application For Copyright Registration For A Group Of Contributions To Periodicals GR/CP Step  5: Under section 3, where asked to enter the date of creation, write the year the last article was completed.

Adjunct Application For Copyright Registration For A Group Of Contributions To Periodicals GR/CP Step  6: No other exceptions apply to complete the Form TX. Follow the instructions that come with this form. Submit this form along with the Form GR/CP to the United States Copyright Office at the address listed in the instructions.

INSTRUCTIONS: FORM TX LITERARY WORKS

Form TX is submitted to the United States Copyright Office to register any non-dramatic written work except for magazines, newspapers and other periodicals. Works such as novels, nonfictions books, magazine catalogues, catalogs and so on can all register through this form. You may obtain a Form TX from the website of the United States Copyright Office.

Form TX Step 1: In section one, enter the name of the work, as well as any alternate titles. If it was previously published as part of a collective volume or as part of a periodical or serial volume, provide information about this original publishing source, including the name.

Form TX Step 2: Section two is for authors to provide information about themselves. While you may register the work anonymously or under a pseudonym while checking the appropriate box, you must indicate what citizenship the author has and where their place of residence is. If the work is a "work for hire," this means it was made for someone else. Should this be the case, you should have this noted in your contract before you begin writing. If more than three authors are being registered, obtain a continuation sheet to record their information with this application. Include a brief explanation of each author's contribution.

Form TX Step 3: In section three, list the year work was completed. If the work was previously published in any form, note when and where.

Form TX Step 4: In section four, list the address of the person claiming copyright. If different from the author, explain how you obtained copyright.

Form TX Step 5: In section five, note whether you have previously registered this work. You may register again if publishing a registered but previously unpublished work, are submitting a claim for copyright as the author for the first time, or have made changes. Check the box next to the correct statement and provide the original registration number and year it was issued.

Form TX Step 6: In optional section six, note any already completed work included in your work or an explanation of how you have added material to a previously registered work.

Form TX Step 7: In section 7, list the address for correspondence.

Form TX Step 8: In section 8, print and sign your name and include the date. 

INSTRUCTIONS: FORM PA

People seeking a copyright on a motion picture, television show, pantomime, ballet, play, musical or other performing arts piece should file a Form PA. This document can be obtained from the United States Copyright Office's website.

Form PA Step 1: Enter the title of the work exactly as it appears in any copies or photo records of the work in part one. Include a brief description of the type of work you are seeking a copyright for, such as "choreography" or "song lyrics."

Form PA Step 2: In part two, the name of up to three authors can be submitted on one form. In cases where it is unclear who the "author" is, such a motion picture, this decision must be reached among the people submitting the application. Every author listed should have their country of citizenship and domicile listed separately. A copyright can be granted to someone who chooses to submit their work anonymously or pseudonymously. A description of each author's contribution should be included.

Form PA Step 3: Note the year work on this creative project was completed in part three. If previously published, note the date and location.

Form PA Step 4: List the name and address of the person seeking copyright in part 4. Those who are not the author should include an explanation of how they came by the copyright in the space provided.

Form PA Step 5: In part 5, note if your work was previously registered. If yes, note whether it was registered as an unpublished work, if you have made changes since or whether this is the first time the author has filed a claim.

Form PA Step 6: If you included preexisting material in any form, note this in section 6a. In 6b, note what changes you added or how you expanded on previously copyrighted work of your own.

Form PA Step 7: In section 7a, you may provide your deposit account number if you already have one registered with the Copyright Office. In section 7b, you may provide an address for correspondence.

Form PA Step 8: In section 8, certify that you are the author, another copyright claimant, an owner of the rights to a project, or an authorized agent of one of the above by checking the box next to the appropriate description. Sign and date the form.