The United States Constitution gives Congress the power to enact laws establishing a system of copyright in the United States. The first federal copyright law, called the Copyright Act of 1790, was enacted in May 1790. Originally, claims were recorded by Clerks of U.S. district courts. In 1870, copyright functions were centralized in the Library of Congress under the direction of the then Librarian of CongressAinsworth Rand Spofford. The Copyright Office became a separate department of the Library of Congress in 1897, and Thorvald Solberg was appointed the first Register of Copyrights.
Functions
The mission of the Copyright Office is to promote creativity by administering and sustaining an effective national copyright system. While the purpose of the copyright system has always been to promote creativity in society, the functions of the Copyright Office have grown to include the following:
Administering the copyright law
The Office examines all applications and deposits presented for registration of original and renewal copyright claims to determine their acceptability for registration under the provisions of the copyright law. The Office also records documents related to copyright ownership. The Copyright Office records the bibliographic descriptions and the copyright facts of all works registered. The archives maintained by the Copyright Office are an important record of America's cultural and historical heritage. Containing nearly 45 million individual cards, the Copyright Card Catalog housed in the James Madison Memorial Building comprises an index to copyright registrations in the United States from 1870 through 1977. Records after 1977 are maintained through an online database of more than 16 million entries. As a service unit of the Library of Congress, the Copyright Office is part of the legislative branch of government. The Office provides copyright policy advice to Congress. At the request of Congress, the Copyright Office advises and assists the Congress in the development of national and international copyright policy; drafts legislation; and prepares technical studies on copyright-related matters. The Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices manual documents the Copyright Office's practices in its administration of copyright law. A new fee schedule for certain Office services is effective as of May 1, 2014. The Copyright office's fees were last updated in 2009. Fees increased for certain registration and recordation and associated services, as well as certain search and review services for FOIA requests Freedom of Information Act . In May 2014, the Office also reduced some renewal application and addendum fees in an effort to "encourage the filing of more renewal claims" and thereby help improve public records about copyright ownership.
Providing information services to the public
The Copyright Office provides public information and reference services concerning copyrights and recorded documents. The public can keep up on developments in the Copyright Office by subscribing to U.S. Copyright Office NewsNet, a free electronic mailing list that issues periodic email messages to alert subscribers to hearings, deadlines for comments, new and proposed regulations, new publications, and other copyright-related subjects of interest. Subscribe on the Copyright Office website.
Library of Congress
In 1870, Congress passed a law that centralized the copyright system in the Library of Congress. This law required all owners of copyrights of publicly distributed works to deposit in the Library two copies of every such work registered in the United States, whether it is a book, pamphlet, map, print, or piece of music. Supplying the information needs of the Congress, the Library of Congress has become the world's largest library and the de facto national library of the United States. This repository of more than 162 million books, photographs, maps, films, documents, sound recordings, computer programs, and other items has grown largely through the operations of the copyright system, which brings deposits of every copyrighted work into the Library.
Duties
The Copyright Office consults with interested copyright owners, industry and library representatives, bar associations, and other interested parties on issues related to the copyright law. The Copyright Office promotes improved copyright protection for U.S. creative works abroad through its International Copyright Institute. Created within the Copyright Office by Congress in 1988, the International Copyright Institute provides training for high-level officials from developing and newly industrialized countries and encourages development of effective intellectual property laws and enforcement overseas. The website has information about new copyright relevant legislation and a list of designated agents under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act and information about Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel system of ad hoc copyright royalty arbitrators.
