Step-by-step Copyright Registration Process

Below I provide the steps to register for a copyright with the US government. This information is valid for either print or Ebooks.

What you’ll need:

-          Electronic version of your manuscript (pdf, doc, ect…)

-          $35 (i.e., a bank account or credit card with $35 available).

First off, do you need a copyright? Based on the information at the government’s copyright website, you are inherently the owner of your manuscript just by being the original writer.  But to know for sure that your work will hold up in court without any problems over a copyright violation, you can get a copyright just to be safe.

So if you want to go through the fairly tedious process of getting a copyright with the US government, I’ve provided directions with screenshots.

 

1)      To start, browse to http://www.copyright.gov/ and click on the Electonic Copyright Office button on the right hand side of the screen.

 

2)      At the eCO Online System page, you’ll see a link to view the available file types you must submit your manuscript as, which includes nearly all standard file types. You’ll also notice that a basic claim (likely what you’ll want) is $35. Finally, take note that the only time the site is unavailable is on Sunday from midnight to 6am. Shouldn’t be an issue for most. After looking at any of the other information links that interest you, click on the Electronic Copyright Office button I’ve circled in red.

 

3)      Now you’re at the Security & Privacy page. If you desire to read the privacy notice click on the privacy link, otherwise, click on Continue To eCO.

 

4)      Next, you must either login, or, more likely, register. To register, simply click on the If you are a new user, register here link below the password text field, and fill in all pertinent information. When you’re finished, you will have your user id and password and be able to login.

 

5)      You are now in the Electric Copyright Office. If you don’t have any pre-existing claims in process, which is probably the case, you’ll notice the Open Cases area is blank. After you’ve registered your claim, you will be able to come back to this page at any time to see where your case is in the process. But for now, click on the “Register a new Claim” link I’ve circled.

 

6)      You must now complete a three step process: Complete an Application, Make a Payment, and Submit your Work. If you click on any of those three links, you’ll be taken to a page explaining each part of the process in more detail. Feel free to read that info. When finished, click on the Start Registration link I have highlighted.

 

7)      On the next page, you will select “Literary Work” from the “Type of Work” dropdown, which is the correct selection for either an Ebook or Standard Book. Then click the “Continue” link at the top of the page.

 

8)      Back at the Electronic Copyright Office page Click the “New” button to add your work. Notice that the sight warns you to make sure you plug in the exact title when prompted later in the process.

 

9)      Select “Title of Work being Registered” from the dropdown, and fill in the title in the space provided (remember, the exact title of your book). If it’s a series, you can select “Series Title” from the dropdown, and then fill the series title in the space provided. When finished, click “Save”

 

10)   You will be redirected back to the Electronic Copyright Office page. Notice you can see your title in the “All Title” region. To continue, click “Continue” at the top of the screen.

 

11)   If you’re work’s never been published, select “No” in the “Has this work been published?” dropdown. Otherwise, if you’ve self-published, uploaded your book onto Amazon, or have been traditionally published, select yes.

 

12)   If you select “No” you’ll be redirected to the following screen. On it, you must submit the year you completed the work, as well as a preregistration number if one exists. The grand majority of authors won’t need one of these numbers, nor is it required. But if you want to learn more about it, I highlighted the “click here” link where you’ll find details. Otherwise, if you’ve filled in the year of completion, click “Continue” at the top of the screen.

 

13)   If you selected “Yes” in the “Has this work been published?” dropdown, you will see the following screen. The only additional information you must provide in this screen are the “Date of First Publication” and the “Nation of First Publication”. There are also boxes for ISN (International Standard Number) information. The most common ISN is the ISBN, so if you have one, select “ISBN” in the “International Standard Number Type” dropdown, then fill in the actual ISBN in the “International Standard Number” textbox. Otherwise, ignore these boxes. When finished, click “Continue”.

 

14)   Again, you are redirected to the Electronic Office Copyright Page, notice that on the Navigation Pane on the very left side of the window, you can see which tasks you’ve already completed. Currently, there should be a red arrow pointing at the “Authors” link. If you ever want to go back and change something you’ve already done, use the navigation screen on the left to go to a particular step, such as, Titles, or Type of Work. But for now, you’ll want to add an author, likely, you. So, if that’s the case, click the “Add Me” button (circled in red), otherwise, click the “New” button (circled in blue).

 

15)   In the author info form, you must fill in at the very least the author name, citizenship, and domicile. Citizenship is where you are a citizen, and domicile is where you actually reside. For most people reading this, both should be set to United States. Click the “Save” link when finished.

 

16)   Fill in all the contribution for the author. Namely, Text, but some authors may have also contributed artwork or compilation such as typesetting. Text would be sufficient though for the majority. Click “Save” when finished.

 

17)   You’re now back at the Electronic Copyright Page. Click “Continue” if you are satisfied with the author info you’ve provided.

 

18)   Back at the Electronic Copyright Office Page, next you must add claimants. Click on the “Add Me” link if you are the claimant, otherwise, the “New” link if it’s someone else.

 

19)   Fill in the claimant information. Required are the name, address, city (circled in red). If you are claiming the book as an organization, such as a publisher, fill in the organization info instead (circled in blue). You can only fill in one set of data or the other. Click “Save” when finished.

 

20)    Back at the Electronic Copyright Office Page, if you are satisfied with your claimant(s), (you can add more if you desire), click “Continue”.

 

21)   You can now select items to exclude from this claim, such as, images in the private domain. Click the “limit your claim” link circled in red to learn more, otherwise, click “Continue”.

 

22)   Provide contact information of the person or organization others can utilize about copyright management and/or permissions to use the copyrighted work. Select either a person or organization (one or the other), fill in appropriate data, and click “Continue”.

 

23)   You’ll see a screen similar to the last, only, this contact information is for the government if they have any questions about the copyright application. Mandatory fields include the contact’s First Name, Last Name, Email, Address, and City. Click “Continue” when finished.

 

24)   You’re now on the Mail Certificate form, again, very similar to the last two forms. Fill in the information for the person and organization you want the copyright certificate to be mailed to. Click “Continue”.

 

25)   The next page offers you the chance to request special handling. Most authors can ignore this page, as they won’t need special handling. And if you do, it’s an extra $760! So simply click “Continue” to get out of this page fast.

 

26)   At the Certification page, click the “I Certify” checkbox (circled in red), and add the “Name of the Certifying individual” (circled in blue). You can ignore the other optional fields, and click “Continue”.

 

27)    On the next screen, review your submission, and if satisfied, click “Add to Cart”. The page warns that once you add to cart, you cannot make revisions.

 

28)   Review your cart, and click “Checkout”.

 

29)   You’re on your own from here. Simply select your payment option (Credit Card or Direct Account), and then you’ll be directed to a page where you can upload your file. If you’re submitting and Ebook, you’ll be finished once you’ve uploaded. Otherwise, the government may also want a physical copy of your work.

 

Hope some authors find this info useful! It can take months to actually get your copyright in the mail, but at least you’ll have the hard part done. Make sure you frame your copyright when you get it as a trophy for surviving the US government copyright process

 

One Response to “Step-by-step Copyright Registration Process”

1. Ronald P. Chavez says:

   May 23, 2011 at 5:09 pm

   Dear Peter,

   Thanks for the step by step infor for a copyright app. I am already on my third book. so I will need to stay on top of all this. To you I say good luck and God speed.