Copyright registration comes with its own vocabulary. Here are the key terms you will encounter, in plain English.
Core terms
Copyright
The exclusive legal right of the creator of an original work to copy, distribute, display, perform, and make derivatives of that work. It arises automatically when the work is fixed in a tangible form.
Registration
The voluntary act of recording a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office. Registration is required to sue for infringement and to claim statutory damages.
Author
The person who created the work. For a work made for hire, the employer or hiring party is treated as the author.
Claimant
The person or organization that owns the copyright being registered. Usually the author, unless the rights were transferred.
Deposit copy
The copy of the work submitted with the application, which becomes part of the public record of the registration.
Publication
Distributing copies of a work to the public by sale, rental, lease, or lending. Publication status affects how a work is registered.
Enforcement terms
Infringement
The unauthorized use of a copyrighted work in a way that violates one of the owner's exclusive rights.
Statutory damages
A range of damages, up to $150,000 per work for willful infringement, that a court can award without the owner proving actual financial loss. Available only with timely registration.
Work made for hire
A work created by an employee within their job, or a qualifying commissioned work under a written agreement, where the employer or hiring party owns the copyright.
Derivative work
A new work based on or adapted from an existing one, such as a translation, sequel, or remix. The right to make derivatives belongs to the copyright owner.
Public domain
The status of works whose copyright has expired or never applied, free for anyone to use without permission.
Fair use
A legal doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, teaching, or research.
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