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  1. SapereAude

    SapereAude Contributor Contributor

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    Registering the Copyright

    Discussion in 'Self-Publishing' started by SapereAude, Feb 24, 2021.

    I have obtained an LCCN from the Library of Congress for the book I recently published. By law (and simply to strengthen my copyright) I am supposed to submit two copies of the printed book to the Library of Congress for record and to complete the copyright registration.

    1. There is supposed to be a form filled out to accompany the two copies of the book, but I can't find out what form. Does anyone know what the correct form name or number is, and where to find it?

    2. Is there a fee when you submit the printed copies to confirm your copyright registration? If so, how much is it, or how is it calculated?
     
  2. Catrin Lewis

    Catrin Lewis Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Community Volunteer

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    Yes, there's a fee. And a form. Here are good places to start:

    Circular 1: Copyright Basics
    Circular 1: Copyright Registration


    See Page 8 of the latter circular for where you get the forms.

    And all sorts of information is available on the Copyright Office website, www.copyright.gov.
     
  3. SapereAude

    SapereAude Contributor Contributor

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    Thanks. I have already read both of those circulars, multiple times. I don't see the fee stated anywhere, and I can't find the form that's supposed to accompany submission of the two copies of the printed book.
     
  4. Catrin Lewis

    Catrin Lewis Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Community Volunteer

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    The form isn't there. You get it off the website, starting at https://eco.copyright.gov/eService_enu/start.swe?SWECmd=Login&SWECM=S&SRN=&SWEHo=eco.copyright.gov. Me, I haven't gone any farther because I'm not registering my work just now and I hate creating log-ins and passwords.

    I notice they head the page with a notice about registering unpublished works. This threw me. Were they saying you had to register your work before it's published? But looking at it again, I think they're just saying that if the work(s) aren't published, you can group them on a single application. Published works have to be registered one at a time.

    Don't quote me on that. Find out what it says once you log in.

    Here's the page about fees: https://copyright.gov/about/fees.html. The current price is $45 for a single work by a single creator.
     
  5. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    You can file the application for registration online, as noted above. At the end of that process, you should be given a printable slip to accompany the deposit of the works you are sending in to the Copyright Office.
     
  6. SapereAude

    SapereAude Contributor Contributor

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    Drat. I hate all this on-line stuff. I was hoping I could just print out a form, write a check, and mail it in.

    :sigh: So much for that. Thanks, Folks.


    :Luddites-R-Us:
     
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  7. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    Oh, you can. The form for Literary Works is https://www.copyright.gov/forms/formtx.pdf
     
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  8. SapereAude

    SapereAude Contributor Contributor

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    Thank you again.
     
  9. Catrin Lewis

    Catrin Lewis Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Community Volunteer

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    This kind of thing is why I like WF. Google may be my friend, but too often it has everything except what one wants on its mind.
     
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  10. SapereAude

    SapereAude Contributor Contributor

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    Why did I think that writing a book was the hard part? Now that the writing is done, it seems that every answer leads to a new question. The question du jour:

    Now I know how to register the copyright for the print book, and I have the form and two printed copies all boxed up and ready to mail off to the copyright office. What about the e-book versions (both Kindle and Nook)? The text is the same, of course, but they are in a different medium. Should they be copyrighted separately?
     
  11. Rosacrvx

    Rosacrvx Contributor Contributor

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    I don’t know. But e-books need a separate ISBN. Either way, your work is already copyrighted if you submit the printed books.
     
  12. Catrin Lewis

    Catrin Lewis Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Community Volunteer

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    This is exactly right. The Copyright Office (the U.S. one, anyway) is interested in your words, not your formatting. They ask for a copy of the best version. If it's your paperback, you've sent it already and the ebook is taken care of.

    What happens if you put out the deluxe version with the tooled and gilded leather covers and the hand-painted tipped-in plates? Maybe it would be a new application, since you'd be copyrighting the content as illustrated, making it a new work to be protected. Check with the Copyright Office on that.
     
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  13. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    It’s copyrighted as soon as you write it. The submission to the Copyright Office is to register the copyright you already have.
     
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  14. Lew

    Lew Contributor Contributor

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    ISBNs are optional for eBooks. They are covered by the paperback copyright. You are copyrighting the text, not the medium in which it appears
     
  15. SapereAude

    SapereAude Contributor Contributor

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    An ISBN has nothing to do with the copyright. Books need ISBNs so that people who want the book can find it. We have established that ISBNs are not needed for e-books. That said, if the major distributor of e-books to libraries uses ISBNs, then I want my e-book to have an ISBN. Further, since if I have a Kindle I would probably not be pleased to receive and e-book in Nook format, I think it only makes sense to assign a separate ISBN to each format.
     
  16. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    Thats not possible - the only place you can download a file to your kindle is amazon, and they only hold kindle format (which used to be mobi but these days is a kindle optimised epub) ... likewise the only place a nook reader can download content is from the nook store on B&N which only holds nook optimised epubs... (likewise for kobo, apple, android etc)... there is absolutely zero point in assigning different isbns to each format... all that does is cost you money
     
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