Mbu 2520 spring 2018 chapter 9

MBU 2520 Spring 2018 - Eric M. Griffin
Copyright Formalities
1

COPYRIGHT FORMALITIES
.
Copyright Formalities general consist of 1) Registration 2) Notice & 3)Deposit.
These were very important until 1989 when the US entered the Berne Convention.
The Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 eliminated these requirements.
But there are still very good reasons to follow these formalities.
2

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The Constitution authorized Congress to create a © system.
Until 1870 – © were recorded by US District Courts
1870 to 1897 – Library of Congress handled © registration
1897 –The Copyright Office was created as a department of the Library of Congress
and is headed by the REGISTER OF COPYRIGHTS.
1. Processes Applications
2. Maintains records (including assignments and other tansfers.
3. Advises Congress on suggested changes in US © law as well as compliance with international
treaties.
4. Analyzes and assists in drafting © legislation.
5. Does studies for Congress on © matters.
6. Assists foreign countries with their © systems.
7. Issues regulations in order to implement © Act
8. Conducts searches and makes it possible for others to do searches.
9. Provide public with info about © but NOT legal advice.
3

. Registration: Not required but heavily recommended. – Registration means that
someone made a claim of ownership on a specific date. It is NOT absolute proof of
ownership. You may be asked to prove it if someone contests it.
Why Register?
1. Create a Public Record of your claim (w/date).
2. Provides prima facie evidence of ownership (on it’s face). If registered within 5
years of Publication, a court assumes all info is valid (absent proof otherwise).
3. You MUST register if you want to file suit. (Does not apply if the © owner is not a
US Citizen or resident AND the work is first published in another Berne
Convention member.)
4

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Why Register? (cont)
4. Entitles you toAttorney’s Fees and Statutory Damages. (If registered prior to
infringement or within 3 mo. of Publication. Damages can be hard to prove or
minimal, so Statutory Damages are important.
5. Allows collection of Mechanical Royalties.
6. Allows Blocking of importation of illegal copies.
5

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Who can Register?
Anyone who owns all or part of the Exclusive Rights to a ©Work or their authorized
agent. Usually applies to author(s) or anyone acquiring ownership of an exclusive right
by a transfer.
Only ONE registration is needed to protect all owners.
6

. When should you register?
Anytime during the term. Best to do soon as possible after creation. In order to get
attorney’s fees or statutory damages, you MUST register within 3 months of
Publication. To challenge an infringement, you MUST also register within 1 month of
learning about the infringement.
7

.
How to Register?
Online or by mail = Most Music uses use PA or SR form.
PA = Composition
SR = Sound Recording
(SR form covers both PA & SR If the owners are the same.)
3 requirements:
1. Proper application form.
2. Deposit of a copy of the work
3. Fee
Be very careful when completing forms. If there are any mistakes, you will get
rejected and often have to pay again.
8

.
Can register multiple works using one collection if:
1. All works unpublished;
2. Same owner for everything, including the collection as a whole;
3. Must be same author, or at least one author is the same for all songs.
4. Must be assembled in an orderly form;
5. Collection have a single title. (Can be anything: “Mike’s songs fromJuly 2018”)
HOWEVER, only the title of the Collection will be searchable. To fix this, after
registering the collection, file a CA form listing all titles.
Registrations can be corrected and updated using the proper forms.
9

.
POOR MAN’s COPYRIGHT – Can provide some evidence of the date of creation,
but does nothing to substitute for registration.
A better money saving idea? Don’t register works until you know they are going
to be published. Just make sure you do it before 3 mo. after publication.
10

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Preregistration began being allowed in 2005 because certain works were likely to be
infringed prior to publication.
1. Sound Recordings
2. Motion Pictures
3. Musical Compositions
4. Literary works being published in book form.
5. Computer Programs &Video Games
6. Advertising or Marketing Photos
11

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© Deposit
The Office must have a copy of the work to be Registered. This is Mandatory!
2 copies of the best available edition must be deposited within 3 month of
publication. (1 copy if unpublished.) Include artworks, liner notes, etc.
Does NOT apply to unpublished works.
Penalties for failure to deposit: Office may demand a deposit if you fail to give them
one after publication. Usually not an issue.
For practical reasons some items are exempt (online only publications, newspapers,
etc.) 12

.
© NOTICE
Prior to March 1, 1989 Notice was REQUIRED for © protection.
 Under 1909 Act. No Notice = Public Domain
 1976 Act followed same policy, but allowed correction of errors if innocent.
However you could not claim infringement.
 1978 – 1989 if Published without notice and no registration within 5 years = PD
BUT if there is registration within 5 years, then full term protection applies.
13

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An omission or mistake in using a copyright notice may not have invalidated the
copyright to works published between January 1, 1978 and March 1, 1989, if :
1. The notice was omitted from no more than a relatively small number of copies or
phonorecords distributed to the public; OR
2. The work was registered before or within five years after the publication without
notice and a reasonable effort was made to add notice to all copies or phonorecords
distributed in the United States after the omission was discovered; OR
3. The omission violated an express written agreement to include proper notice as a
condition of public distribution of copies or phonorecords;OR
4. The notice was removed from the copies or phonorecords without the authorization
of the copyright owner. 14

.
© NOTICE
However, most foreign countries did NOT require notice. So in order to enter the
Berne Convention, the © office dropped the notice requirement March 1, 1989
Still highly recommended.
• Makes it clear an item is protected by ©.
• Allows those seeing license to easily find you.
• Blocks claims of innocent infringement.
• Notice may prevent the work from becoming an orphan work by identifying the
copyright owner and specifying the term of the copyright. 15

.
© Notice Requirements
1. Either the word “Copyright”, “Copr.”, or “©”. For Sound recordings use (p)
2. Year of initial publication of the work. (Unpublished = year of creation).
3. Copyright owner’s name. Current owner, not author.
Notice must be placed on every reproduction of the work in a manner and
location that gives reasonable notice of the claim.
16

Mbu 2520 spring 2018 chapter 9

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