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DEFINITIONS


Who is an author?


Under the copyright law, the creator of the original expression in a work is its
author. The author is also the owner of copyright unless there is a written
agreement by which the author assigns the copyright to another person or entity,
such as a publisher. In cases of works made for hire, the employer or
commissioning party is considered to be the author. See Circular 30, Works Made
for Hire.


What is a deposit?


A deposit is usually one copy (if unpublished) or two copies (if published) of
the work to be registered for copyright. In certain cases such as works of the
visual arts, identifying material such as a photograph may be used instead. See
Circular 40a, Deposit Requirements for Registration of Claims to Copyright in
Visual Arts Material. The deposit is sent with the application and fee and
becomes the property of the Library of Congress.


What is publication?


Publication has a technical meaning in copyright law. According to the statute,
“Publication is the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the
public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending.
The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for
purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display
constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not of
itself constitute publication.” Generally, publication occurs on the date on
which copies of the work are first made available to the public. For further
information see Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Publication”.


What is a copyright notice? How do I put a copyright notice on my work?


A copyright notice is an identifier placed on copies of the work to inform the
world of copyright ownership. The copyright notice generally consists of the
symbol or word “copyright (or copr.),” the name of the copyright owner, and the
year of first publication, e.g., ©2008 John Doe. While use of a copyright notice
was once required as a condition of copyright protection, it is now optional.
Use of the notice is the responsibility of the copyright owner and does not
require advance permission from, or registration with, the Copyright Office. See
Circular 3, Copyright Notice, for requirements for works published before March
1, 1989, and for more information on the form and position of the copyright
notice.


What is copyright infringement?


As a general matter, copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is
reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a
derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner.


What is peer-to-peer (P2P) networking?


A type of network where computers communicate directly with each other, rather
than through a central server. Often referred to simply as peer-to-peer, or
abbreviated P2P, a type of network in which each workstation has equivalent
capabilities and responsibilities in contrast to client/server architectures, in
which some computers are dedicated to serving the other computers. A "network"
is a group of two or more computer systems linked together by various methods.
In recent usage, peer-to-peer has come to describe applications in which users
can use the Internet to exchange files with each other directly or through a
mediating server.


Where is the public domain?


The public domain is not a place. A work of authorship is in the “public domain”
if it is no longer under copyright protection or if it failed to meet the
requirements for copyright protection. Works in the public domain may be used
freely without the permission of the former copyright owner.


What is mandatory deposit?


Copies of all works under copyright protection that have been published in the
United States are required to be deposited with the Copyright Office within
three months of the date of first publication. See Circular 7d, Mandatory
Deposit of Copies or Phonorecords for the Library of Congress, and the Deposit
Regulation 202.19.


What is a work made for hire?


Although the general rule is that the person who creates the work is its author,
there is an exception to that principle. The exception is a work made for hire,
which is a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her
employment or a work specially ordered or commissioned in certain specified
circumstances. When a work qualifies as a work made for hire, the employer, or
commissioning party, is considered to be the author. See Circular 30, Works Made
for Hire .


What is a Library of Congress number?


The Library of Congress Control Number is assigned by the Library at its
discretion to assist librarians in acquiring and cataloging works. For further
information, go to the Cataloging in Publication program website at
http://www.loc.gov/publish/prepubbooklink.


What is an ISBN number?


The International Standard Book Number is administered by the R.R. Bowker
Company. The ISBN is a numerical identifier intended to assist the international
community in identifying and ordering certain publications.



What are some other terms commonly used by the U.S. Copyright Office?


Please see our list of U.S. Copyright Office Definitions.



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