Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created
in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship
immediately becomes the property of the author who created
the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights
through the author can rightfully claim copyright.
In the case of works made for hire, the employer and not
the employee is considered to be the author. Section 101 of
the copyright law defines a “work made for hire” as:
1 a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or
her employment; or
2 a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as:
• a contribution to a collective work
• a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work
• a translation
• a supplementary work
• a compilation
• an instructional text
• a test
• answer material for a test
• an atlas
if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument
signed by them that the work shall be considered a work
made for hire.
The authors of a joint work are co-owners of the copyright
in the work, unless there is an agreement to the contrary.
Copyright in each separate contribution to a periodical or
other collective work is distinct from copyright in the collective
work as a whole and vests initially with the author of the
contribution.
Two General Principles
• Mere ownership of a book, manuscript, painting, or any
other copy or phonorecord does not give the possessor
the copyright. The law provides that transfer of ownership
of any material object that embodies a protected work
does not of itself convey any rights in the copyright.
• Minors may claim copyright, but state laws may regulate
the business dealings involving copyrights owned by minors.
For information on relevant state laws, consult an attorney.

Copyright and National Origin of the Work
Copyright protection is available for all unpublished works,
regardless of the nationality or domicile of the author.
Published works are eligible for copyright protection in the
United States if any one of the following conditions is met:
• On the date of first publication, one or more of the
authors is a national or domiciliary of the United States,
or is a national, domiciliary, or sovereign authority of a
treaty party,* or is a stateless person wherever that person
may be domiciled; or
• The work is first published in the United States or in a
foreign nation that, on the date of first publication, is a
treaty party. For purposes of this condition, a work that
is published in the United States or a treaty party within
30 days after publication in a foreign nation that is not a
treaty party shall be considered to be first published in the
United States or such treaty party, as the case may be; or
• The work is a sound recording that was first fixed in a
treaty party; or
• The work is a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work that
is incorporated in a building or other structure, or an
architectural work that is embodied in a building and the
building or structure is located in the United States or a
treaty party; or
• The work is first published by the United Nations or
any of its specialized agencies, or by the Organization of
American States; or
• The work is a foreign work that was in the public domain
in the United States prior to 1996 and its copyright was
restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act
(URAA). Request Circular 38b, Highlights of Copyright
Amendments Contained in the Uruguay Round Agreements
Act (URAA-GATT), for further information.
• The work comes within the scope of a Presidential proclamation.
*A treaty party is a country or intergovernmental organization
other than the United States that is a party to an international
agreement.
What Works Are Protected?
Copyright protects “original works of authorship” that are
fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not
be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated
with the aid of a machine or device. Copyrightable works
include the following categories:

1 literary works
2 musical works, including any accompanying words
3 dramatic works, including any accompanying music
4 pantomimes and choreographic works
5 pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
6 motion pictures and other audiovisual works
7 sound recordings
8 architectural works
These categories should be viewed broadly. For example,
computer programs and most “compilations” may be registered
as “literary works”; maps and architectural plans may
be registered as “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works.”