COPYRIGHT FACT SHEET

Introduction
Pursuant to Section 2406(i) of the Administrative Code of 1929, as amended, the Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS) is empowered:

[t]o copyright, in the name of the Commonwealth, all publications of the Commonwealth, or of any department, board, or commission or officer thereof, including the State Reports, which under existing or future laws it shall be necessary to have copyrighted, and such other publications as the Secretary of [General Services], with the approval of the Governor, shall deem it advisable to copyright[.]

71 P.S. § 636 (relating to publications).

The purpose of this Copyright Fact Sheet is to provide Commonwealth agencies with information regarding copyrights and how various types of information created by the Commonwealth may be copyrighted, as well as the procedures to be followed if the agency determines that it is in its best interest to register a work with the United States Copyright Office (Copyright Office), an arm of the Library of Congress. Once a Commonwealth agency determines that it wishes to pursue obtaining a copyright, it may do so by following the instructions at the end of the Copyright Fact Sheet.

Copyright Secured Automatically upon Creation
Copyright protection arises automatically without the need for notice, publication, or registration whenever the following three components exist:

1. Minimal creativity: A minimal amount of creativity is required, but there is no definitive rule concerning how much must exist;
2. Originality: The work must be unique and independently created; and
3. Fixation: The work must be in some permanent or physical form where it can be seen or heard or read.

Drafts of works and other immediate versions of a work qualify for copyright protection. Copyright protection is also available for both published and unpublished works. Registration may be made at any time during the life of the copyright; however, most copyright authors register their works within three months of creation.

Even though registration is not a requirement for protection under the current federal law, the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended (the Copyright Act), registration confers significant several advantages to copyright owners. These include:

• Registration establishes a public record of the copyright claim.
• Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is necessary for works of U.S. origin.
• If made before or within five years of publication, registration will establish prima facie evidence in court of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate.
• If registration is made within three months after publication of the work or prior to an infringement of the work, statutory damages and attorneys’ fees will be available to the copyright owner in court actions. Otherwise, only an award of actual damages and profits is available to the copyright owner.
• Registration allows the owner of the copyright to record the registration with the U.S. Customs Service for protection against the importation of infringing copies.

The copyright notice should contain the following three elements:

1. The symbol ©;
2. The year of first publication of the work; and
3. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (as indicated above, all copyrights are registered in the name of the Commonwealth.)

Example: © 2008 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

How Long Copyright Protection Endures

Works Originally Created on or after January 1, 1978
A work that was created (fixed in tangible form for the first time) on or after January 1, 1978, is automatically protected from the moment of its creation and is ordinarily given a term enduring for the author’s life plus an additional 70 years after the author’s death. In the case of “a joint work prepared by two or more authors who did not work for hire,” the term lasts for 70 years after the last surviving author’s death. For works made for hire (works created by employees on behalf of their employers or works commissioned by an independent contractor as a work for hire before the work is created that fall within the enumerated federal statutory categories for commissioned works for hire), and for anonymous and pseudonymous works (unless the author’s identity is revealed in Copyright Office records), the duration of copyright will be 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.

Works Originally Created before January 1, 1978, but Not Published or Registered by That Date
These works have been automatically brought under the statute and are now given federal copyright protection. The duration of copyright in these works is generally computed in the same way as for works created on or after January 1, 1978: the life-plus-70 or 95/120-year terms apply to them as well. The law provides that in no case would the term of copyright for works in this category expire before December 31, 2002, and for works published on or before December 31, 2002, the term of copyright will not expire before December 31, 2047.

How to Apply for Registration
Fill out Form STD-7, Document Design & Layout Request Form, in its entirety and return it with three (3) copies of the work you wish to copyright to:

DGS/Bureau of Publications
ATTN: Copyright Registration
1650 Bobali Drive
Harrisburg, PA 17104

A representative from the Bureau of Publications will contact the Requestor indicated on Form STD-7 to obtain additional information necessary to proceed with your request.

A copyright registration certificate can take up to six months to receive from the US Copyright Office.  Once the certificate has been received in our office, a copy will be sent to you for your records.  Should you have any questions regarding the application or the copyright process, please contact the editor, Sharon Trostle at strostle@pa.gov or 717-704-1049.

NOTE: This Copyright Fact Sheet is not intended to provide legal advice to the public.  Should you need additional information you may access the United States Copyright Office at: http://www.copyright.gov/.