Top of page
Posted by: Karyn A. Temple
If asked, many of us would easily be able to identify our favorite song or tune, and often to even quote verbatim (e.g., sing embarrassingly off-key) the actual bridge, melody, or lyrics that made that song so special. Whether it is the way a song made us laugh or reflected our innermost desires and fears, …
Posted in: Copyright, music, Register of Copyrights, Uncategorized
Posted by: Ashley Tucker
For a deeper dive into the Office’s recent efforts to successfully improve registration pendency times, as well as a historical look at registration, see the Office’s response to Congressional letters received on March 14 and April 3 regarding registration processing times. I was very excited to be selected as one of the twenty-five examiners hired …
Posted in: Registration, Uncategorized
Posted by: Alison Hall
Not only is the Library of Congress celebrating the 200th anniversary of Walt Whitman’s birth all month, but May is also the anniversary of Leaves of Grass, one of Whitman’s best-known works. Walter Whitman (as he called himself then) registered his copyright for the first edition of Leaves of Grass on May 15, 1855, in …
Posted in: Copyright, historical, Uncategorized, virtual card catalog
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 …
Posted in: Copyright, Copyright Matters, Public Domain, Uncategorized
Posted by: Alison Hall
Today, the Library of Congress and the National Film Preservation Board announced this year’s list of films added to the National Film Registry. Many favorite films are already part of the Registry, including Star Wars, The Muppet Movie, Airplane!, This Is Spinal Tap, The Breakfast Club, Top Gun, and The Princess Bride. This year’s additions do …
Posted in: Copyright, film, Uncategorized
Posted by: George Thuronyi
The following is a guest post by Regan A. Smith, General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights. “When modes of music change, the fundamental laws of the state always change with them.” Plato, the Republic Book IV (Jowett tr.) Following unanimous votes in the House of Representatives and the Senate, today the President signed the …
Posted in: Copyright, music, Uncategorized
Posted by: George Thuronyi
The following is a guest post by Ryan Kwock, summer law clerk in the Office of Policy and International Affairs This summer, I had the pleasure of serving as a law clerk in the Office of Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Copyright Office. In addition to working on challenging domestic and international copyright …
Posted in: Copyright, music, Uncategorized
Posted by: George Thuronyi
The following is a guest post by Tracie Coleman, Information Section head of the Licensing Division. I began my career in the U.S. Copyright Office in 1991. For ten years, I worked as a bibliographer in the Copyright Public Records Reading Room (CPRRR). When responding to public requests for copyright information, I was responsible for …
Posted in: Copyright, Uncategorized, virtual card catalog
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 …
Posted in: Copyright, Uncategorized, Women's History