General Instructions: Do not confuse “creation” with “publication.” Every
application for copyright registration must state “the year in which creation of the
work was completed.” Give the date and nation of first publication only if the work
has been published.
Creation: Under the statute, a work is “created” when it is fixed in a copy or pho-
norecord for the first time. If a work has been prepared over a period of time, the part
of the work existing in fixed form on a particular date constitutes the created work on
that date. The date you give here should be the year in which the author completed the
particular version for which registration is now being sought, even if other versions
exist or if further changes or additions are planned.
Publication: The statute defines “publication” as “the distribution of copies or pho-
norecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental,
lease, or lending”; a work is also “published” if there has been an “offering to distrib-
ute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution,
public performance, or public display.” Give the full date (month, date, year) when, and
the country where, publication first occurred. If first publication took place simultane-
ously in the United States and other countries, it is sufficient to state “U.S.A.”
Name(s) and Address(es) of Copyright Claimant(s): Give the name(s) and
address(es) of the copyright claimant(s) in the work even if the claimant is the same
as the author. Copyright in a work belongs initially to the author of the work (includ-
ing, in the case of a work made for hire, the employer or other person for whom the
work was prepared). The copyright claimant is either the author of the work or a
person or organization to whom the copyright initially belonging to the author has
been transferred.
Transfer: The statute provides that, if the copyright claimant is not the author,
the application for registration must contain “a brief statement of how the claimant
obtained ownership of the copyright.” If any copyright claimant named in space 4a is
not an author named in space 2, give a brief statement explaining how the claimant(s)
obtained ownership of the copyright. Examples: “By written contract”; “Transfer of all
rights by author”; “Assignment”; “By will.” Do not attach transfer documents or other
attachments or riders.
General Instructions: The questions in space 5 are intended to show whether
an earlier registration has been made for this work and, if so, whether there is any basis
for a new registration. As a rule, only one basic copyright registration can be made for
the same version of a particular work.
Same Version: If this version is substantially the same as the work covered by a pre-
vious registration, a second registration is not generally possible unless: (1) the work has
been registered in unpublished form and a second registration is now being sought to
cover this first published edition; or (2) someone other than the author is identified as
copyright claimant in the earlier registration and the author is now seeking registration
in his or her own name. If either of these two exceptions applies, check the appropri-
ate box and give the earlier registration number and date. Otherwise, do not submit
Form SR. Instead, write the Copyright Office for information about supplementary
registration or recordation of transfers of copyright ownership.
Changed Version: If the work has been changed and you are now seeking registra-
tion to cover the additions or revisions, check the last box in space 5, give the earlier
registration number and date, and complete both parts of space 6 in accordance with
the instructions below.
Previous Registration Number and Date: If more than one previous registration
has been made for the work, give the number and date of the latest registration.
General Instructions: Complete space 6 if this work is a “changed version,”
“compilation,” or “derivative work,” and if it incorporates one or more earlier works that
have already been published or registered for copyright, or that have fallen into the
public domain, or sound recordings that were fixed before February 15, 1972. A “com-
pilation” is defined as “a work formed by the collection and assembling of preexisting
materials or of data that are selected, coordinated, or arranged in such a way that the
resulting work as a whole constitutes an original work of authorship.” A “derivative
work” is “a work based on one or more preexisting works.” Examples of derivative
works include recordings reissued with substantial editorial revisions or abridgments
of the recorded sounds, and recordings republished with new recorded material, or “any
other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted.” Derivative works
also include works “consisting of editorial revisions, annotations, or other modifica-
tions” if these changes, as a whole, represent an original work of authorship.
Preexisting Material (space 6a): Complete this space and space 6b for derivative
works. In this space identify the preexisting work that has been recast, transformed,
or adapted. The preexisting work may be material that has been previously published,
previously registered, or that is in the public domain. For example, the preexisting
material might be: “1970 recording by Sperryville Symphony of Bach Double Concerto.”
Material Added to This Work (space 6b): Give a brief, general statement of the
additional new material covered by the copyright claim for which registra-
tion is sought. In the case of a derivative work, identify this new material.
Examples: “Recorded performances on bands 1 and 3”; “Remixed sounds from original
multitrack sound sources”; “New words, arrangement, and additional sounds.” If the
work is a compilation, give a brief, general statement describing both the material that
has been compiled and the compilation itself. Example: “Compilation of 1938 record-
ings by various swing bands.”
Deposit Account: If you maintain a deposit account in the Copyright Office, identify
it in space 7a. Otherwise, leave the space blank and send the filing fee with your appli-
cation and deposit. (See space 8 on form.) Note: Copyright Office fees are subject to
change. For current fees, check the Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov, write
the Copyright Office, or call (202) 707-3000 or 1-877-476-0778 (toll free).
Correspondence (space 7b): Give the name, address, area code, telephone number,
fax number, and email address (if available) of the person to be consulted if correspon-
dence about this application becomes necessary.
Certification (space 8): This application cannot be accepted unless it bears the date
and the signature of the author or other copyright claimant, or the owner of exclusive
right(s), or the duly authorized agent of the author, claimant, or owner of exclusive
right(s).
Address for Return of Certificate (space 9): The address box must be completed
legibly since the certificate will be returned in a window envelope.
“Works”: “Works” are the basic subject matter of copyright; they are what authors
create and copyright protects. The statute draws a sharp distinction between the “work”
and “any material object in which the work is embodied.”
“Copies” and “Phonorecords”: These are the two types of material objects in which
“works” are embodied. In general, “copies” are objects from which a work can be read
or visually perceived, directly or with the aid of a machine or device, such as manu-
scripts, books, sheet music, film, and videotape. “Phonorecords” are objects embodying
fixations
of sounds, such as audio tapes and phonograph disks. For example, a song (the
“work”) can be reproduced in sheet music (“copies”) or phonograph disks (“phonore-
cords”), or both.
“Sound Recordings”: These are “works,” not “copies” or “phonorecords.” “Sound
recordings” are “works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken,
or other sounds, but not including the sounds accompanying a motion picture or
other audiovisual work.” Example: When a record company issues a new release, the
release will typically involve two distinct “works”: the “musical work” that has been
recorded, and the “sound recording” as a separate work in itself. The material objects
that the record company sends out are
“phonorecords”: physical reproductions of both
the “musical work” and the “sound recording.”
Should You File More Than One Application?
If your work consists of a recorded musical, dramatic, or literary work and if both that
“work” and the sound recording as a separate “work” are eligible for registration, the
application form you should file depends on the following:
File Only Form SR if: The copyright claimant is the same for both the musical,
dramatic, or literary work and for the sound recording, and you are seeking a single
registration to cover both of these “works.”
File Only Form PA (or Form TX) if: You are seeking to register only the musical,
dramatic, or literary work, not the sound recording. Form PA is appropriate for works
of the performing arts; Form TX is for nondramatic literary works.
Separate Applications Should Be Filed on Form PA (or Form TX) and on Form
SR if: (1) The copyright claimant for the musical, dramatic, or literary work is different
from the copyright claimant for the sound recording; or (2) you prefer to have separate
registrations for the musical, dramatic, or literary work and for the sound recording.
SPACE 3: Creation and Publication
3
SPACE 4: Claimant(s)
4
SPACE 5: Previous Registration
5
SPACE 6: Derivative Work or Compilation
6
SPACE 7,8,9: Fee, Correspondence,
Certication, Return Address
7,8,9
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