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Find copyright records held by the Copyright Office from 1790 to present. Search online by option, get help, request a search or a copy estimate, or visit the Copyright Reading Room.
- Virtual Card Catalog
The U.S. Copyright Card Catalog provides an index to...
- Research
Records Research and Certification Services. Hours. The...
- Request a Search Estimate
We may need to contact you by phone. What is the best...
- Register
For additional information, click on any of the below dates....
- Contact Form
Be sure to submit your request only once. Duplicate requests...
- U.S. Copyright Office
View current fees for registration, recordation, and other...
- Virtual Card Catalog
The purpose of this pilot is to develop a single, easy-to-navigate, highly searchable database of U.S. Copyright Office public records. Please try out both the simple search interface and the advanced search interface that includes a query builder and filters.
- Defining Your Search
- Searching Copyright Office Records
- Searching Copyright Office Records Online
- Searching Library of Congress Records
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Your search of Copyright Office records will vary depending on your goal. Most likely, you have one of two goals: you want to find the current owner of a copyright or you want to know whether the work has fallen into the public domain. Methods for achieving each goal are described below.
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Once you have all the available information about your work and know what you’re searching for, you need to choose the search method that best suits your purposes. You can either hire a search firm or work directly with the Copyright Office, which will do your search for a fee. Another option is searching the Copyright Office online, discussed in the next section.
Hire a Private Search Company
For a fee, you can hire a private company to search Copyright Office records for you. These companies provide additional services such as tracing the copyright history of a fictional character or locating similarly titled works. These companies may be able to determine if a work is in the public domain or whether you can obtain the rights to use the work. The advantage of using these companies is their speed and thoroughness. Search companies compile comprehensive reports using Copyright Offi...
Pay the Copyright Office to Perform the Search
Upon request, the Copyright Office staff will search its records at the statutory rate of $165 for each hour or fraction of an hour consumed. (There is a two-hour minimum.) An online search request form (see Figure 1, above) is available from the Copyright Office website (www.copyright.gov/forms/search_estimate.html). The Copyright Office will respond with an estimate within two to five days. Although the cost of a Copyright Office search is lower than a private search company, the disadvanta...
Searching the online Copyright Office records is free and easy. You can search through copyright files by visiting the Copyright Office at www.copyright.gov/records(see Figure 2, below). All copyright information is located in the Public Catalog (click “Search Public Catalog”) which contains information about works registered since January 1978. In...
In addition to Copyright Office records, there is another catalog of helpful information at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world and has been collecting and cataloging materials for over 200 years. However, contrary to popular belief, the Library of Congress does not contain copies o...
Learn how to use online databases and other resources to find information about copyright ownership, publication, transfers, and public domain status. See examples of how to search for specific works and authors using Library of Congress catalogs and Copyright Office records.
Feb 7, 2020 · Learn how to use and reuse materials from the Library of Congress website, which may be subject to copyright and other rights restrictions. Find out how to determine the copyright status, get permission, and apply exceptions for your purposes.
Lecture, Sermon or Address. Drawing or plastic work of scientific or technical character. Print or label used for an article of merchandise. Reproduction of a Work of Art. Photoplay. Photograph. Unspecified. Chromo or lithograph. Engraving, cut or print.
Learn how to use the Library of Congress Copyright Office to find the current copyright status of works, whether they are in the public domain or not. Get tips on how to search the Catalog of Copyright Entries, certificates of registration, and other resources.
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