Top of page
Posted by: Steve Andreadis
The U.S. Copyright Office entered Phase Two operations with the rest of the Library of Congress on August 24 and continues its outreach efforts.
Posted in: coronavirus, DMCA, Inside the Copyright Office, Register of Copyrights, rulemakings, Website
Posted by: George Thuronyi
The following is a guest post by Maria Strong, Acting Register of Copyrights. The U.S. Copyright Office has taken a number of actions to ensure that mission-critical functions continue during the ongoing challenges caused by COVID-19. I commend our staff for maintaining a continued high level of service under these challenging conditions and greatly appreciate …
Posted in: Copyright, Inside the Copyright Office, Register of Copyrights, Uncategorized
Posted by: Alison Hall
To celebrate women's history month, I wanted to write about the five women who have served (and are serving) as leaders of the U.S. Copyright Office. Women have led this Office consecutively since November 1993, and their accomplishments are nothing short of incredible. These five lawyers (who all attended either Columbia Law School or George Washington Law) have contributed over 100 years of public service to the Copyright Office, counting all their roles. This blog shows just a snapshot of their accomplishments and contributions to copyright.
Posted in: Copyright, Copyright Lore, historical, Inside the Copyright Office, Register of Copyrights, Women's History
Posted by: Nicole McNew Chen
On January 1, thousands of 1924 works entered the public domain. An important part of the copyright lifecycle, you can use works in the public domain freely to inspire your own creativity. Explore some of the notable additions from George and Ira Gershwin, Buster Keaton, W. E. B. Du Bois, and more.
Posted in: Copyright, film, historical, music, Public Domain
Posted by: Ashley Tucker
Since its initial observation in the United States in 1976, Black History Month celebrates the achievements, contributions, culture, and history of African Americans. Every year, the Copyright Office highlights the impact of Black artists within the copyright system. In particular, copyright incentivizes the production of performing arts works, which are generally intended to be performed before an …
Posted in: Black History Month, Copyright for All
Posted by: Nicole McNew Chen
Earlier this year, on January 1, new group of creative works entered the public domain in the United States. Learn more about some of the works published in 1927 that anyone can now use without the copyright owner’s permission.
Posted in: Copyright, literature, music, Poetry, Public Domain, Uncategorized
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. …
Posted in: Copyright, Inside the Copyright Office, Register of Copyrights, Registration, Uncategorized
Posted by: Anandashankar Mazumdar
On January 1, a new raft of creative works of expression entered the public domain in the United States. The term of copyright has ended for works published or registered in 1925, which now join pre-1924 works already in the public domain and available for use by everyone without restrictions. Expiration of copyright term is …
Posted in: Copyright, historical, music
Posted by: Holland Gormley
The following is a guest post by Paul Capel, Supervisory Records Management Section Head. The United States Copyright Office holds the most comprehensive collection of copyright records in the world. The Office has over 200,000 boxes of deposit copies spread among three storage facilities in Landover, Maryland; a contracted space in Pennsylvania; and the National …
Posted in: Copyright, Uncategorized