Top of page

Archive: 2018 (17 Posts)

Gold foil seal of stylized eagle surrounded by a large letter

Copyright Office Invites Creative Solutions

Posted by: George Thuronyi

The following is a guest post by Frances Carden, technical writer in the Copyright Modernization Office. The buzz around here has been big–you may remember my April post about the establishment of the Copyright Modernization Office (CMO) that directs all modernization initiatives across the U.S. Copyright Office–and it’s getting bigger and bolder. On May 7, …

Frances Carden and CMO coworkers

A Day in the Life of the Copyright Modernization Office

Posted by: George Thuronyi

The following is a guest post by Frances Carden, technical writer in the Copyright Modernization Office. I joined the Copyright Modernization Office (CMO) straight from a background in federal consulting. I honestly hadn’t planned to change jobs, but was drawn in by CMO’s posted job description requesting a technical writer namely because a) I’m a …

Beyoncé

Celebrating Female Songwriters

Posted by: Alison Hall

While closing out our celebration of Women’s History Month, I discovered that female songwriters have been registering works with the Copyright Office for more than 147 years. I began my research with book one of the official U.S. Copyright Office record book, which contains registrations of several songs written by women in 1870. As I …

The Copyright Office Celebrates Women

Posted by: Alison Hall

Today is International Women’s Day. Here in the United States, we are in the midst of celebrating women’s history month. In recognition of these events, the Copyright Office wants to call attention to the women who contribute to creativity—both those who work (or have worked) in the Office and those who register their creative works. …

Image of Fair Use Index webpage

Knowing When You Can Use a Copyrighted Work

Posted by: George Thuronyi

The following is a guest post by Emma Kleiner, Barbara A. Ringer Program fellow. Can a gossip website use copyrighted images of celebrities without first obtaining a license? Is an author allowed to incorporate elements from a Dr. Seuss book into his own manuscript? You can find clues to answer these questions–and many others–in the …

image of copyright registration cards

Virtual Card Catalog Available Online

Posted by: George Thuronyi

The following is a guest post by Shawn Gallagher, management and program analyst. As a child growing up in the 1970s, one of my most prized possessions was a Luke Skywalker action figure. He was the hero of my youth, and I was surprised to learn recently that Luke wasn’t always a Skywalker. He was …