I am often asked how I go about registering my art with the Library of Congress.
Do I do each image individually? No – I’d go broke!
Do I do each collection separately? I used to but now I have learned the art of bulk registrations and save lots of cash each year.
Cheryl Hodgson has talked about this in several of her ask calls – you can get her first call for free by registering at www.AskCherylHodgson.com or buy the subsequent calls at www.AskAboutArtLicensing.com Attorney Sarah Feingold talks a lot about the ins and outs of copyright registration but not details about bulk registrations in her eBook, Copyrights for Artists*. Other artists’ attorneys have advised bulk registrations as well.
Here is how I register my art in groups:
I register new groups of art at the end of each quarter.
I put my art on 8/5 x 11 pages and save them as smallest size pdfs. Then I create a large pdf – sometimes 30-50 pages, and submit as a group each quarter. There are often several images per page. I submit the PDF electronically – it is currently $35 per submission and goes through much faster than submitting by mail. Go to www.copyright.gov for submission details.
The most important part of registering a lot of art at the same time is that you need to be EXTREMELY ORGANIZED. Save the pdf, print it out for backup. If you ever have an infringement issue, it is up to you to know which registration group the art in question was a part of. The kind people at the Library of Congress will not go through your files and figure it out for you.
Why do you need to register anyway? Don’t you own the copyright just by creating the art?
Yes. However, in the US, you can not take someone to court and receive damages or attorney fees for copyright infringement without having registered your art with the Library of Congress. No registration? No judge frowning at those who infringe upon your copyrights!
And it has to be the Library of Congress – websites that say they collect and date stamp your art to prove you made it and when only put money in the website owner’s pocket. It won’t protect you legally. Nor will mailing it to yourself. So spend the $35 per registration and protect yourself just in case…
I hope that helps and I wish you much success and little (if any!) copyright infringement!
– Tara Reed
P.S. Interestingly enough, the day the FAQ about registering copyrights in groups posted to my blog, I received a letter from the Library of Congress about my most recent group registration. (Funny how things happen like that sometimes.) It is a form letter explaining a few particulars and referencing some rules that pertain to registering in groups.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE LETTER FROM THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
I believe the “work not covered by copyrights” that might have prompted me to receive this letter is the inclusion of word art with my images. Words and text aren’t covered by copyrights but need to be trademarked. I admit to not always taking the time to take them out of my registrations. 🙂
If you want to see the referenced regulations, I’m sure you can find them at www.copyright.gov
Thanks, Tara! I’ve been doing a few at a time by theme because I thought the grouping had to mean something. Now that I know I can do like you suggest, I’ll start right away! I’ve been holding off because my way usually ends up costing me $350. I like your way better 🙂
Thank you Tara! This is great I have been organizing and cataloging pieces of art that I have been creating since college and now that I am posting on images on the internet I have been wanting to register the copyrights. This is great info that you can it as groups and save money!
Tara, this is excellent information! So many artists don’t file their copyrights because they aren’t sure how, and they don’t realize that you can file many at one time.
Great explanation – I’ll link to this from my next blog post!
Thank you for the information Tara and for the much needed reminder.
Thanks for posting this! This really helps!!
Very, very helpful-simple clear directions that we can do today!
Love the info you give us 😉
Camille
Create-A-Mural
Please don’t forget to change your address when you move. You want someone to be able to contact you if they want to use your art found in the files of Library of Congress.
How do we do that? Is there a place online or form we fill out for the Library of Congress? Thanks for the reminder and any further information you have!
Can you elaborate on the necessity of separating published from unpublished work in these bulk registrations? Can you do group registrations for both published and unpublished works provided these are separated and done in separate registrations? Any other advice for registering published works? Many thanks!
Registering your copyright is about being able to employ full leverage of the law if there is a serious disagreement with a person caught infringing copyrighted material. Having your work registered allows you to apply greater leverage in a negotiation with a party that has infringed your work. It provides incentive to reach a common ground of a settlement knowing greater damages could be obtained if an agreement isn’t reached.
Hi Tara! thanks for doing this! I have registered much of my work electronically. I paid $35 per page. Question.. when you submit a multi page pdf do you still pay per page or is it $35 for the multi page pdf. If so I’ve been paying a lot more money than I need to.
Thanks again..Julie
Hi Tara,
thanks so much for this info. I am also enjoying using your product blanks that I purchased. I have a question that may seem stupid, but I haven’t seen it referenced anywhere on the internet. Not sure if it will be covered in the upcoming copyright office call either. When you register art – do you have to register all colorways? Or can I register the line art or one color way and it is done for all options. I’d like to not have to specify colorways and leave it open for when I work with manufacturers. Thanks so much.