Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
This circular provides background information about the registration of
copyright claims in serials usingo Frm SE, Short Form SE, and Form
SE/GROUP. It supplements, but does not replace, the line-by-line instructions
on the forms.
For information on group registration for daily newspapers and newsletters,
request Circular 62a,
“Group Registration of Newspapers and Newsletters on Form G/DN,”
and Form G/DN.
SERIALS
For copyright purposes, serials are defined as works issued or intended to
be issued in successive parts bearing numerical or chronological designations
and intended to be continued indefinitely. The classification “serial”
includes periodicals, newspapers, magazines, bulletins, newsletters, annuals,
journals, proceedings of societies, and other similar works.
HOW TO SELECT YOUR APPLICATION
Form SE/GROUP: Use Form SE/GROUP to register a group of serial issues.
If a serial meets the requirements for group registration, this option is
the most cost-efficient way to register. The Copyright Office encourages applicants
to use this group option for qualified serials. The filing fee is $15 per
issue ($45 minimum). See below for detailed requirements for group registration
on Form SE/ GROUP.
Short Form SE: Use Short Form SE to register one issue of a serial,
provided certain requirements are met. Most serials meet these requirements.
This one-page form is shorter and easier to complete than the standard two-page
Form SE. The filing fee is $30* per issue. See below for
detailed requirements for Short Form SE.
Standard Form SE: Use standard Form SE to register one issue of a
serial if the requirements for Short Form SE are not met. Also, the standard
Form SE is always acceptable for any serial issue, even in cases where the
Short Form could be used. The filing fee is $30* per issue.
DEFINITIONS
Work Made for Hire
A “work made for hire” is a work prepared by an employee within
the scope of his or her employment, or a work specially ordered or commissioned
for certain uses (including use as a contribution to a collective work), if
the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the
work shall be considered a work made for hire. The employer is the author
of a work made for hire.
Collective Work
A “collective work” is a work, such as a periodical issue, anthology,
or encyclopedia, in which a number of contributions, constituting separate
and independent works in themselves, are assembled into a collective whole.
REQUIREMENTS FOR USE OF SHORT FORM SE
Short Form SE may be used only if all the following requirements are met:
- The claim must be in a collective work;
- The work must be an essentially all new collective work or serial issue;
- The author must be a citizen or domiciliary of the United States;
- The work must be a work made for hire;
- The author(s) and claimant(s) must be the same person(s) or organization(s);
and
- The work must be first published in the United States.
HOW TO OBTAIN FORMS
You can obtain these forms and other forms and circulars by sending a specific
request, identifying the number of forms you need, to:
Library of Congress
Copyright Office
Publications Section, LM-455
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
or by calling the Forms and Publications Hotline (202)707-9100 and leaving
a recorded message. Forms are also available from the Copyright Office Website
at www.copyright.gov
HOW TO REGISTER A SINGLE ISSUE
To register each issue, send the following three elements together in the
same envelope or package to:
Library of Congress
Copyright Office
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
1. A properly completed and signed application standard Form SE or Short
Form SE (use typewriter or black ink). On standard Form SE, be sure that the
date on which the application is signed is the same as or later than the date
the serial issue was published.
2. A nonrefundable filing fee of $30* (check, money
order, or bank draft, not cash) payable to: Register of Copyrights.
3. Two copies of the serial issue to be registered. (Send only one copy of
the serial issue if the issue is unpublished or if the issue was first published
outside of the United States.)
NOTE: A claim to copyright in a single issue does not give blanket
protection for other issues published under the same serial title. Each serial
issue is considered a separate work for copyright purposes and should be registered
separately. For example, registration of “vol. 1, no. 1” of Country
Doctor applies only to that issue and not to “vol. 1, no.
2.”
HOW TO REGISTER A GROUP OF ISSUES
Copyright Office regulations permit group registration of certain serial
publications. Issues of serials first published on or after January 7,
1991, at intervals of a week or longer within a 3-month period during
the same calendar year can be grouped and registered with a single application
and reduced fee.
The nonrefundable filing fee for group registration is $15*
for each issue listed on Form/SE GROUP. An appropriate fee must be sent with
each application or charged to an active deposit account in the Copyright
Office. There is a minimum fee of $45* for Form/SE GROUP,
which may cover up to three issues. It is not possible to register only a
single issue on this application.
| *NOTE:
Copyright Office fees are subject to change. For current fees, please check
the Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov,
write the Copyright Office, or call (202) 707-3000. |
How to Determine Eligibility for Form SE/GROUP
All the following conditions must be met to take advantage of group registration.
If any one condition does not apply, registration, if made, must be made for
each issue separately using either Form SE or Short Form SE.
- The claim to copyright must be in the collective work.
- The works must be essentially all new collective works or issues.
- Each issue must be a work made for hire.
- The author(s) and claimant(s) must be the same person(s) or organization(s)
for all the issues.
- The serial must be published at intervals of 1 week or longer.
- All issues in the group must be published within a 3-month period.
- Each issue must have been created no more than 1 year prior to the date
of publication of that issue.
- All issues in the group must have been published within the same calendar
year.
- At least two issues must be included on each group application.
Two Special Conditions for Group Registration
Prior to any submission for copyright group registration, the following
conditions must be met:
- Two complimentary subscriptions of the serial must first be entered for
the Library of Congress, so that promptly after publication two copies of
each issue are automatically sent to the Library. The mailing address for
these subscription copies is:
Library of Congress
Group Periodicals Registration
Washington, D.C. 20540-4161
- A separate letter must also be sent to this same address confirming that
the two complimentary subscriptions have been entered. The letter must identify
the publisher, the title(s), and the indicia (i.e., volume, number, and
issue date on copies) that begin the complimentary subscription(s).
To ensure proper processing, only the address given in number one is to
be used for complimentary subscriptions and the letter of confirmation.
How to File for Group Registration
After the two special requirements (above) have been satisfied, complete
Form SE/GROUP, following the instructions here and on the back of the application,
and submit the following material in one package:
- The completed application Form SE/GROUP
- One copy of each issue listed on the application
- A nonreturnable filing fee of $15* per issue (minimum
$45)
Mail this package to:
| NOTE: This address is different
from the address used for the complimentary subscriptions and the confirming
letter. For group registrations to be properly processed, send the application,
fee, and copies only to this address above. |
For More Information
For answers to questions about the procedure in general or about completing
the application form, call the Copyright Office Public Information Office:
(202) 707-3000 (TTY: (202) 707-6737) 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., eastern time, Monday
through Friday, except federal holidays. For questions about the letter confirming
the subscriptions or the complimentary subscriptions, call the Copyright Acquisitions
Division at (202) 707-7125.
Group Registration
of Daily Newsletters and Newspapers
A serial published twice a week or more often may qualify for group
registration as a daily newsletter. A group of daily newsletter issues
published on or after July 1, 1999, must be registered on Form G/DN. This
same form is used to register a group of daily newspaper issues. For further
information about group registration on Form G/DN, request Circular 62a,
“Group Registration of Newspapers and Newsletters on Form G/DN.”
|
THE CLAIMANT AND THE EXTENT OF THE CLAIM
The copyright claimant is the person, organization, or legal entity authorized
to claim copyright in the serial issue. The claimant is the author or the
person or organization to whom all rights have been transferred.
The claimant registering a serial may claim copyright not only in the collective-work
authorship for which the claimant is responsible but also in any independently
authored contributions in which all rights have been transferred to the claimant
by the contributors.
If the serial issue includes any independently authored contributions in
which all rights have not been transferred by the contributor to the claimant
for the serial issue as a whole, those contributions are not included in the
claim being registered, because the claimant in these contributions is different
from the claimant in the entire serial issue.
A separately authored contribution can, however, be registered for
copyright independently. To register such a contribution, the contributor
should file a separate claim using Form TX or other appropriate application
form.
HOW TO COMPLETE THE AUTHORSHIP AND CLAIMANT PORTIONS
OF STANDARD FORM SE
Name of Author—Space 2
The applicant must determine who is the author of the serial issue covered
by the claim and whether the material produced by that author is a “work
made for hire.” Where the author is a corporation or other organization,
the “work made for hire” question must be answered “yes.”
Therefore, in the case of the typical serial issue that is made for hire,
the applicant should give at Space 2 the full legal name of the employer and
check “yes” to show that the work was made for hire.
Nature of Authorship—Space 2
To facilitate describing the material created by the author, Form SE provides
a choice of checking a box marked “Collective Work” or completing
a blank labelled “Other.” Checking the box marked “Collective
Work” indicates authorship of the collective work as a whole (that is,
the editing and compiling of the issue as a whole) plus any individual madefor-hire
contributions.
It is not necessary to describe the authorship in more specific terms if
the “Collective Work” box is checked. However, examples of authorship
descriptions that could be given instead of checking the “Collective
Work” box and that could apply to both organization and individual authors
include“text,” “text and illustrations,” “editorial
revision, compilation and additional new material.”
Copyright Claimant and Transfer—Space 4
Give the full legal name and address of the claimant for the serial issue
as a whole. When the same name or names appear as author and claimant at Spaces
2 and 4, there is no need to complete the “transfer” space. Conversely,
whenever the name of the serial claimant at Space 4 is different from the
name of the author at Space 2, a transfer statement is required at Space 4.
When a serial issue includes independently authored contributions in which
all rights have been transferred in writing to the claimant of the entire
serial issue, it is not necessary to include the names of the contributors
at Space 2. Whether those contributors are listed or not, the copyright claim
in the serial issue as a whole would extend to those contributions.
NOTE: If Space 2 of the application includes the names of those contributors
who transferred their rights to the serial claimant, Space 4 must include
a brief transfer statement explaining how the rights were transferred: for
example, “by written agreement” or “by assignment.”
NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT
Before March 1, 1989, the use of the copyright notice was mandatory on all
published works, and any work first published before that date should have
carried a notice. For works first published on and after March 1, 1989, use
of the copyright notice is optional. For more information about copyright
notice, see Circular 3, “Copyright Notice.”
|
MANDATORY DEPOSIT
Under the mandatory deposit provisions of the copyright law, two
complete copies of the best edition of each issue of a serial published
in the United States must be sent to the Copyright Office for the use
of the Library of Congress. If registration is made on Form SE, Short
Form SE, or Form SE/GROUP, this requirement is automatically satisfied.
If registration is not made, the two copies must be sent directly to
the Copyright Acquisitions Division. (Registration is not mandatory.)
It is the responsibility of the owner of copyright or the owner of the
exclusive right of publication to fulfill this mandatory deposit requirement
within 3 months after the date of publication in the United States.
Failure to make the deposit can result in fines and other penalties.
Deposits of works that are not being registered should be sent to:
Library of Congress
Register of Copyrights
Attn: 407 Deposits
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
The mandatory deposit requirement also applies to works first published
abroad that have subsequently been published in the United States. Copyright
Office regulations, however, permit the deposit of one copy of a “foreign
work,” that is, a work first published abroad that is later distributed
in the United States without a change in copyrightable content, if (a)
registration for the work is made before the work is distributed in the
United States, or (b) registration for the work is made after the work
is distributed in the United States but before a demand for deposit
is made by this Office. If registration is not made, or if it is
made after a demand, then two copies must be deposited. Failure to make
the deposit can lead to fines and other penalties. |
How to Obtain an ISSN Number
Obtaining an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is separate from
copyright registration. The Copyright Office does not administer ISSN assignment.
For information about obtaining an ISSN, write to: Library of Congress, National
Serials Data Program, Serial Record Division, Washington, D.C. 20540-4160.
Or obtain information from the Library of Congress Website at www.loc.gov/issn
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Information via the Internet: Circulars, announcements, regulations,
other related materials, and all copyright application forms are available
via the Internet. You may access these from the Copyright Office Website at
www.copyright.gov
Information by fax: Circulars and other information (but not application
forms) are available by using a touchtone phone to access Fax-on-Demand at
(202)707-2600.
Information by telephone: For general information about copyright,
call the Copyright Public Information Office at (202)707-3000. The TTY number
is (202)707-6737. Information specialists are on duty from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00
p.m., eastern time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. Recorded
information is available 24 hours a day. Or, if you know which application
forms and circulars you want, request them from the Forms and Publications
Hotline at (202)707-9100 24 hours a day. Leave a recorded message.
Information by regular mail: Write to:
Library of Congress
Copyright Office
Publications Section, LM-455
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
Rev: July 2002
This electronic version has been altered slightly from the original printed
text for presentation on the World Wide Web. For a copy of the original
circular, consult the PDF
version or write to Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue S.E., Washington,
D.C. 20559-6000.
