I've Submitted My Application, Fee,
and Copy of My Work to the Copyright Office. Now What?
How can I know when my submission for registration is received by
the Copyright Office?
If you apply for copyright registration online, you will receive an email stating
that your application has been received. Otherwise, the Copyright Office does
not provide a confirmation of receipt. Currently, if you use a commercial carrier
(such as Federal Express, Airborne Express, DHL Worldwide Express, or United
Parcel Service), that company may be able to provide an acknowledgment of receipt
by the Copyright Office. Due to the mail disruption,
an acknowledgment of receipt for mail sent via the U.S. Postal Service, e.g.,
certified, registered and overnight delivery, may take several weeks or longer
to receive. Claims to copyright may also be hand-delivered to the Copyright Office.
See About the Office for hours and location.
Please note that our mail service is severely disrupted. (Read
more details).
How long does the registration process take, and when will I receive
my certificate?
The time the Copyright Office requires to process an application varies, depending
on the amount of material the Office is receiving. If you file using a paper
application and your submission is in order, you may generally expect to receive
a certificate of registration within approximately eight months of submission.
If you file online, you will receive your certificate much faster.
I’ve been getting solicitation letters
from publishers. Is the Copyright Office selling my personal information?
The Copyright Office does not sell information. Copyright Office records, however,
are public records, which means anyone may come to our office and inspect them.
Occasionally organizations such as music publishers or book publishers send a
representative to the Copyright Office to compile lists of names and addresses
of those authors who have most recently registered their works. Their purpose,
undoubtedly, is to solicit new business. This practice is not a violation of
the law.
| Note: The Copyright Office offers
introductory answers to frequently asked questions about copyright,
registration, and services of the Office. Links throughout the
answers will guide you to further information on our website
or from other sources. For any other questions, please visit
our Contact Us page. |
|