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How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work

Methods of Approaching a Copyright InvestigationThere are several ways to investigate whether a work is under copyright protection
and, if so, the facts of the copyright.
These are the main ones:
1 Examine a copy of the work for such elements as a copyright notice, place and date of publication, author and publisher. If the work is a sound recording, examine the disk, tape cartridge, or cassette in which the recorded sound is fixed, or the album cover, sleeve, or container in which the recording is sold.
2 Make a search of the Copyright Office catalogs and other records.
3 Have the Copyright Office make a search for you.

Searches Not Always ConclusiveSearches of the Copyright Office catalogs and records are useful in helping to determine the copyright status of a work, but they cannot be regarded as conclusive in all cases. The complete absence of any information about a work in the Office records does not mean that the work is unprotected. The following are examples of cases in which information about a particular work may be incomplete or lacking entirely in the Copyright Office:
• Before1978, unpublished works were entitled to protection under common law without the need of registration.• Works published with notice prior to 1978 may be registered at any time within the first 28-year term.
• Works copyrighted between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977, are affected by the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992, which automatically extends the copyright term and makes renewal registrations optional.
• For works under copyright protection on or after January 1, 1978, registration may be made at any time during the term of protection. Although registration is not required as a condition of copyright protection, there are certain definite advantages to registration. For further information, request Circular 1, Copyright Basics.• Since searches are ordinarily limited to registrations that have already been cataloged, a search report may not cover recent registrations for which catalog records are not yet available.

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	Did You Know?
	There is a difference between an arbitration and a trial. In arbitration, the case is heard by one or more arbitrators. These cases are not heard in front of juries. The formal rules of evidence don't apply, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. In general, there are not pre-hearing motions.