How Does Copyrighting Work?

What Is Copyright?

• U.S. Copyright law originates in the Constitution which, in Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 gives Congress the authority "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." As developed by subsequent legislation and regulations of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), copyright does not apply to facts or ideas. Distinct from a patent or trademark, copyrights protect an original work of authorship, not an invention, discovery, or identifying mark.
  
  

What Does Copyright Protect?

• While copyright protection can be extended to the authors of poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, architecture, and other works, and can be sold or transferred for profit, names cannot be copyrighted. Lists of ingredients cannot be copyrighted, but recipes potentially might if they represent a new work of particular authorship. Copyright protects the economic interests of the copyright holder by preventing any unauthorized sale or reproduction of the work. Copyright begins from the moment a work is created without the work ever needing to be registered, though registration is required before bringing a lawsuit for infringement. The so called "poor man's copyright," which consists of mailing an original work to oneself, provides no particular legal benefit or protection.
  
  

Registering A Work

• Registering a work for copyright protection is a matter of submitting an application form to the PTO along with a nonrefundable filing fee, $35 if registering online or $45 if registering with a paper application. All information contained on the application become public knowledge. Unless seeking to register several works as a single compilation, separate applications must be submitted for each work. The application must be accompanied by copies of the work, which will not be returned. Even if registering online, the Library of Congress requires a hard copy, and copies of rejected works remain the property of the federal government. Usually, the copyright registration process takes five months.