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What if you don't know who the copyright owner is, or how to find them? This section explains how to conduct a very specific type of research: finding information about ownership and copyright validity. This information is usually contained in Copyright Office and Library of Congress records such as copyright registrations, assignments, renewals and related documents. This chapter will explain how to go about searching these documents, including how to gather information to prepare for your searches.
It's possible you may not have to perform copyright research. You may be able to locate all the copyright information you need through other sources. However, if you seek permissions on a regular basis, there may come a time when you will have to to trace copyright ownership (known as "the chain of title"), determine the first date of publication or determine if copyright for a work has been renewed.
We'll walk you through the basics of copyright research and explain some common approaches. But first we'll start with answers to some common questions regarding copyright ownership and transfers.
This section does not cover other types of research such as locating stock photos or private databases of art or music. For more media-specific research, review the relevant sections covering that type of media.
Copyright Office records are not always conclusive. Records of the Copyright Office and Library of Congress are helpful for locating ownership information and for determining copyright status. Unfortunately, these records are not always conclusive, because copyright registration and the filing of copyright assignments (documents that transfer copyright ownership) are not mandatory. Since these documents don't have to be filed, it's possible that there is no Copyright Office record regarding a particular work.
Despite this fact, we still recommend performing copyright research because the Copyright Office and the Library of Congress are still the largest repositories of copyrighted materials. In addition, even if you can't find records of ownership, your research will demonstrate that you acted in good faith in the event that you are later sued for an unauthorized use. This "innocent infringement" categorization will limit the damages that you may have to pay in a court case.
- Copyright Ownership and Transfers FAQ
- What Is a Work Made for Hire?
- What Is a Transfer of Title?
- What Is a Termination of a Transfer?
- What If More Than One Person Owns a Copyright?
- Are There Any Situations Where You Must Get Multiple Permissions?
- Is There a Difference Between an Author and a Copyright Owner?
- What If a Work Does Not Contain a Copyright Notice?
- What If There Is a Copyright Notice for an Entire Magazine but Not for the Specific Article You Want to Use?
- Starting Your Copyright Research
- Searching the Copyright Office and Library of Congress Records
- Define Your Search
- Searching Copyright Office Records
- Searching Copyright Office Records Online: Welcome to LOCIS
- Searching Library of Congress Records
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of the Leland Stanford Junior University. With the exception of the Nolo Copyright and Fair Use Overview, this work is
licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.