Chip Hitware 3/Chip_Hitware_Vol_03.iso/chiphit3/win95/programm/cyb_leg/forms.exe/COPY2.LGF

Text File | 1993-10-11 | 19KB | 437 lines

INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT PROTECTION

There is no such thing as an "international copyright" that will
automatically protect an author's writings throughout the entire
world.  Protection against unauthorized use in a particular
country depends, basically, on the national laws of that country.
However, most countries do offer protection to foreign works
under certain conditions, and these conditions have been greatly
simplified by international copyright treaties and conventions.
For a list of countries which maintain copyright relations with
the United States, write to the Copyright Office and ask for
Circular 38a.

     The United States is a member of the Universal Copyright
Convention (the UCC), which came into force on September 16,
1955.  Generally, a work by a national or domiciliary of a
country that is a member of the UCC or a work first published in
a UCC country may claim protection under the UCC.  If the work
bears the notice of copyright in the form and position specified
by the UCC, this notice will satisfy and substitute for any other
formalities a UCC member country would otherwise impose as a
condition of copyright.  A UCC notice should consist of the
symbol C (C surrounded by circle) accompanied by the name of the
copyright proprietor and the year of first publication of the
work.

     An author who wishes protection for his or her work in a
particular country should first find out the extend of protection
of foreign works in that country.  If possible, this should be
done before the work is published anywhere, since protection may
often depend on the facts existing at the time of first
publication.

     If the country in which protection is sought is a party to
one of the international copyright conventions, the work may
generally be protected by complying with the conditions of the
convention.  Even if the work cannot be brought under an
international convention, protection under specific provisions of
the country's national laws may still be possible.  Some
countries, however, offer little or no copyright protection for
foreign works.


COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION

     In general, copyright registration is a legal formality
intended to make a public record of the basic facts of a
particular copyright.  However, except in two specific
situations, [Note 2] registration is not a condition of copyright
protection.  Even though registration is not generally a
requirement of protection, the copyright law provides several
inducements or advantages to encourage copyright owners to make
registration.  Among these advantages are the following:

-    Registration establishes a public record of the copyright
     claim;

-    Registration is ordinarily necessary before any infringement
     suits may be filed in court;

-    If made before or within 5 years of publication,
registration will establish prima facie evidence in court of the
validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the
certificate; and

-    If registration is made within 3 months after publication
     of the work or prior to an infringement of the work,
     statutory damages and attorney's fees will be available
     to the copyright owner in court actions.  Otherwise, only
     an award of actual damages and profits is available to
     the copyright owner.


     Registration may be made at any time within the life of the
copyright.  Unlike the law before 1978, when a work has been
registered in unpublished form, it is not necessary to make
another registration when the work becomes published (although
the copyright owner may register the published edition, if de-
sired).

     A.  To register a work, send the following three elements in
the same envelope or package to the Register of Copyrights,
Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20559:
(see page 11 for what happens if the elements are sent separate-
ly.)

1.   A properly completed application form;

2.   A nonrefundable filing fee of $10 for each application;

3.   A nonreturnable deposit of the work being registered.  The
deposit requirements vary in particular situations.  The general
requirements are as follows:


-    If the work is unpublished, one complete copy or
phonorecord.

-    If the work was first published in the United States on or
     after January 1, 1978, two complete copies or phonorecords
     of the best edition.

-    If the work was first published in the United States before
     January 1, 1978, two complete copies or phonorecords of
     the work as first published.

-    If the work was first published outside the United States,
     whenever published, one complete copy or phonorecord of the
     work as first published.

     NOTE:  Before 1978, the copyright law required, as a
condition for copyright protection, that all copies published
with the authorization of the copyright owner bear a proper
notice.  If a work was published under the copyright owner's
authority before January 1, 1978, without a proper copyright
notice, all copyright protection for that work was permanently
lost in the United States.  The current copyright law does not
provide retroactive protection for those works.

-    If the work is a contribution to a collective work, and
published after January 1, 1978, one complete copy or phonorecord
of the best edition of the collective work.

B.  To register a renewal send:

     1.  A properly completed RE application form, and

     2.  A nonrefundable filing fee of $6 for each work.

     NOTE:  COMPLETE THE APPLICATION FORM USING BLACK INK PEN OR
TYPEWRITER.  You may photocopy the application forms if the forms
you submit to the Office are clear, legible, on a good grade of
white paper, and printed head to head (so that when you turn the
sheet over, the top of page 2 is directly behind the top of page
1).  Because the certificates of registration are reproduced
directly from the application forms, it is vital the forms meet
the stated requirements.  Forms not meeting these requirements
will be returned.

Unpublished Collections

     A work may be registered in unpublished form as a
"collection," with one application and one fee, under the
following conditions:

-    The elements of the collection are assembled in an orderly
     form;

-    The combined elements bear a single title identifying the
     collection as a whole;

-    The copyright claimant in all the elements and in the
     collection as a whole is the same; and

-    All of the elements are by the same author, or, if they are
different authors, at least one of the authors has contributed
copyrightable authorship to each element.

Unpublished collections are indexed in the Catalog of Copyright
Entries only under the collection titles.

Special Deposit Requirements

     The Copyright Act gives the Register of Copyrights authority
to issue regulations making adjustments in the statutory deposit
requirements.  These regulations as now issued require or permit,
for particular classes, the deposit of identifying material
instead of copies or phonorecords, the deposit of only one copy
or phonorecord where two would normally be required, and in some
cases material other than complete copies of the best edition.
For example, the regulations ordinarily require deposit of
identifying material, such as photographs or drawings, when the
work being registered has been reproduced in three-dimensional
copies.

     If you are unsure of the proper deposit required for your
work, write to the Copyright Office for that information and
describe the work you wish to register.

     NOTE:  LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBERS.  A Library
of Congress Catalog Card Number is different from a copyright
registration number.  The Cataloging in Publication (CIP)
Division of the Library of Congress is responsible for assigning
LC Catalog Card Numbers and is operationally separate from the
Copyright Office.  A book may be registered in or deposited with
the Copyright Office but not necessarily cataloged and added to
the Library's collections.  For information about obtaining an LC
Catalog Card Number, contact the CIP Division, Library of
Congress, Washington, D.C.  20540.

CORRECTIONS AND AMPLIFICATIONS OF EXISTING REGISTRATIONS

     To deal with cases in which information in the basic
registration later turns out to be incorrect or incomplete, the
law provides for "the filing of an application for supplementary
registration, to correct an error in a copyright registration or
to amplify the information given in a registration."  The
information in a supplementary registration augments but does not
supersede that contained in the earlier registration.  Note also
that a supplementary registration is not a substitute for an
original registration or for a renewal registration.  Form CA is
available from the Copyright Office for making a supplementary
registration.  For further information about supplementary
registrations, write for Circular 8.

MANDATORY DEPOSIT FOR WORKS PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES WITH
NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT

     Although a copyright registration is not required, the
Copyright Act establishes a mandatory deposit requirement for
works published with notice of copyright in the United States
(see definition of "publications" on page 5 below).  In general,
the owner of copyright, or the owner of the right of first
publication in the work, has a legal obligation to deposit in the
Copyright Office, within 3 months of publication in the United
States, 2 copies (or, in the case of sound recordings, 2
phonorecords) for the use of the Library of Congress.  Failure to
make the deposit can result in fines and other penalties, but
does not affect copyright protection.

     The Copyright Office has issued regulations exempting
certain categories of works entirely from the mandatory deposit
requirements, and reducing the obligation for certain other
categories.  For further information about mandatory deposit,
please write to the Copyright Office for Circular 7d.


USE OF MANDATORY DEPOSIT TO SATISFY REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

     With respect to works published in the United States the
Copyright Act contains a special provision under which a single
deposit can be made to satisfy both the deposit requirements for
the Library and the registration requirements.  The provision
requires that in order to have this dual effect, the copies or
phonorecords must be "accompanied by the prescribed application
and fee" for registration.

WHO MAY FILE AN APPLICATION FORM

     The following persons are legally entitled to submit an
application form:

-    The author.  This is either the person who actually created
     the work, or, if the work was made for hire, the employer or
     other person for whom the work was prepared.

-    The copyright claimant.  The copyright claimant is defined
     in Copyright Office regulations as either the author of the
     work or a person or organization that has obtained owner-
     ship of all the rights under the copyright initially
     belonging to the author.  This category includes a person or
     organization who has obtained by contract the right to claim
     legal title to the copyright in an application for copyright
     registration.

     -The owner of exclusive right(s).  Under the new law, any
     of the exclusive rights that go to make up a copyright and
     any subdivision of them can be transferred and owned
     separately, even though the transfer may be limited in time
     or place of effect.  The term "copyright owner" with res-
     pect to any one of the exclusive rights contained in a
     copyright refers to the owner of that particular right.  Any
     owner of an exclusive right may apply for registration of a
     claim in the work.

-    The duly authorized agent of such author, other copyright
     claimant, or owner of exclusive right(s).  Any person
     authorized to act on behalf of the author, other copyright
     claimant, or owner of exclusive right(s) may apply for
     registration.

     There is no requirement that applications be prepared or
filed by an attorney.

APPLICATION FORMS

For Original Registration

Form TX:
     for published and unpublished nondramatic literary works

Form SE:

     for serials, works issued or intended to be issued in
successive parts bearing numerical or chronological designations
and intended to be continued indefinitely (periodicals,
newspapers, magazines, newsletters, annuals, journals, etc.)

Form PA:

     for published and unpublished works of the performing arts
(musical and dramatic works, pantomimes and choreographic works,
motion pictures and other audiovisual works)

Form VA:

     for published and unpublished works of the visual arts
(pictorial, graphic and sculptural works)

Form SR:

     for published and unpublished sound recordings

For Renewal Registration

Form RE:

     for claims to renewal copyright in works copyrighted under
the law in effect through December 31, 1977 (1909 Copyright Act)

For Corrections and Amplifications

Form CA:

     for supplementary registration to correct or amplify
information given in the Copyright Office record of an earlier
registration.

For a Group of Contributions to Periodicals

Form GR/CP:

     an adjunct application to be used for registration of a
group of contributions to periodicals in addition to an
application form TX, PA, or VA

     Application form are supplied by the Copyright Office free
of charge.

COPYRIGHT OFFICE HOTLINE

     NOTE:  Requesters may order application forms and circulars
at any time by telephoning [phone].  Orders will be
recorded automatically and filled as quickly as possible.

Number is wrong! Instead call 202-707-9100
MAILING INSTRUCTIONS

     All applications and materials related to copyright
registration sent to the Copyright Office should be addressed to
the Register of Copyrights, Copyright Office, Library of
Congress, Washington, D.C.  20559.

     The application, returnable deposit (copies, phonorecords or
identifying material), and nonrefundable filing fee should be
mailed in the same package.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE THREE ELEMENTS ARE NOT RECEIVED TOGETHER

     Applications and fees received without appropriate copies,
phonorecords or identifying material will not be processed and
will ordinarily be returned.  Unpublished deposits without
applications and fees will ordinarily be returned, also.
Published deposits received without applications and fees will be
immediately transferred to the collections of the Library of
Congress.  This practice is in accordance with section 408 of the
law which provides that the published deposit required for the
collections of the Library of Congress may be used for
registration only if the deposit is "accompanied by the
prescribed application and fee . . ."

     After the deposit is received and transferred to another
department of the Library of for its collections or other
disposition, it is no longer available to the Copyright Office.
If you wish to register the work, you must deposit additional
copies or phonorecords with your application and fee.

FEES

     Do not send cash.  A fee sent to the Copyright Office should
be in the form of a money order, check, or bank draft payable to
the Register of Copyrights; it should be securely attached to the
application.  A remittance from outside the United States should
be payable in U.S. dollars and should be in the form of an
international money order or a draft drawn on a U.S. bank.  Do
not send a check drawn on a foreign bank.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF REGISTRATION

     Please note that a copyright registration is effective on
the date of receipt in the Copyright Office of all the required
elements in acceptable form, regardless of the length of time it
takes thereafter to process the application and mail the
certificate of registration.  The length of time required by the
Copyright Office to process an application varies from time to
time, depending on the amount of material received and the
personnel available to handle it.  It must also be kept in mind
that it may take a number of days for mailed material to reach
the Copyright Office and for the certificate of registration to
reach the recipient after being mailed by the Copyright Office.

     If you are filing an application for copyright registration
in the Copyright Office, you will not receive an acknowledgement
that your application has been received, but you can expect
within 120 days:

-    A letter or telephone call from a copyright examiner if
     further information is needed;

-    A certificate of registration to indicate the work has been
     registered, or if the application cannot be accepted, a
     letter explaining why it has been rejected.

     If you want to know when the Copyright Office receives your
material, you should send it by registered or certified mail and
request a return receipt from the post office.  Allow at least 3
weeks for the return of your receipt.

SEARCH OF COPYRIGHT OFFICE RECORDS

     The records of the Copyright Office are open for inspection
and searching by the public.  Moreover, on request, the Copyright
Office will make a search of its records at the statutory rate of
$10 for each hour or fraction of an hour consumed.  For
information on searching the Office records concerning the
copyright status or ownership of a work, please write for
Circulars 22 and 23.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

     This circular attempts to answer some of the questions that
are frequently asked about copyright.  For a list of other
material published by the Copyright Office, write for
"Publications on Copyright."  Any requests for Copyright Office
publications or special questions relating to copyright problem
not mentioned in this circular should be addressed to the
Copyright Office, LM-455, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
20559.

     The Copyright Office is not permitted to give legal advice.
If you need information or guidance on matters such as disputes
over the ownership of a copyright, suits against possible
infringers, the procedure for getting a work published, or the
method of obtaining royalty payments, it may be necessary to
consult an attorney.