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A collection of photographs of Houdini

Houdini and the Magic of Copyright

Posted by: Anandashankar Mazumdar

The following is a guest blog post by Marilyn Creswell, Librarian-in-Residence at the U.S. Copyright Office. Magicians do not always reveal their tricks, even when they register their copyright claims. The legendary Hungarian immigrant Harry Houdini registered three of his famous illusions as “playlets,” or short plays, with the U.S. Copyright Office between 1911 and …

Illustrates swearing in of new Register of Copyrights remotely

The Copyright Office: Marking One Year of Pandemic Operations

Posted by: Anandashankar Mazumdar

The following is a guest blog post by Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and Director, U.S. Copyright Office. On Friday, March 13, 2020, the Library of Congress closed its buildings to the public and initiated pandemic operations. At the end of October, I was sworn in virtually by the Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden. …

Photograph of copyright registration certificates being printed and mailed

Copyright Office Registration Processing Times Change for the Second Half of Fiscal 2020

Posted by: Anandashankar Mazumdar

The following is a guest post by Robert J. Kasunic, Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Registration Policy and Practice. This week, the Copyright Office released its registration processing times for the second half of fiscal 2020 (April–September 2020). We issue processing statistics twice during the fiscal year, so this latest update reflects registration …

Published Works Enter the Public Domain in the United States for First Time in Twenty Years

Posted by: Anandashankar Mazumdar

New Year’s Day 2019 was a landmark for American copyright law. For the first time in twenty years, published works of expression—including books, music, and films—started moving out of copyright protection and into the public domain. U.S. copyright law gives creators several exclusive rights over their creative and original works. These include, for example, the …