One of the most frequently asked questions from authors is how to copyright their work. A copyright is essential to prevent others from using any portion of a work without the copyright holder's permission. For works that were created on or after January 1, 1998, U.S. copyright law has established a "life-plus-seventy" system. This means that a work is automatically protected from the moment of its creation "in tangible form" until 70 years after the author's death. The copyright law was also amended to conform to international law, so that material published in the United States automatically carries international copyright protection and is protected against foreign piracy.

Even with this automatic protection, most authors choose to display the copyright notice in their work. Books print the copyright information on the reverse of the title page. This information should be "...placed on all publicly distributed copies from which the work can be visually perceived" and include the symbol © and/or the word copyright or the abbreviation copr., the year of the first publication, and the name of the copyright owner. It might also contain other warnings about copyright infringement.

It is to your benefit to put the copyright in your own name rather than in the name of your publisher or another person. If you want to register the copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office, there is a $50 fee, and at least a 20 week wait for enrollment. One of the only reasons to register the copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office is the extra damages received if you have to sue for copyright infringement. It is rare, however, that anyone has to initiate such a lawsuit.

The Copyright office also requires that two complete copies of the best edition of all works protected by copyright be deposited in the Office within three months of publication.

There is more specific information on how to obtain and fill out copyright and Library of Congress forms in PDF (downloadable) format on our e-booklets page. You can also fill out the copyright form on line if you go to the Library of Congress' web site, www.loc.gov.