Copyright Registration of Websites and Website Content 2
work, the type of copyrightable authorship that you want to register, and the owner of copyright.
These topics are discussed in more detail below.
As a general rule, you must submit a separate application, filing fee, and deposit for each work
that you want to register. However, the Office has established exceptions for certain types of works
that allow you to register multiple works with one application. For more information, see Multiple
Works (Circular 34).
The Copyright Office strongly encourages you to submit a claim before you distribute your work
to the public.
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Copyright Oce fees are subject to change. For current fees, see Copyright Oce Fees
(Circular 4) available on the Oce’s website at www.copyright.gov or call the oce at (202) 707-3000
or 1-877-476-0778 (toll free).
Copyrightable Content on a Website
To register a website or website content, you must identify the copyrightable authorship you will
submit for registration. Copyrightable authorship is original expression contributed by an author
that contains at least a minimum amount of creativity.
As with any other work, the Office will refuse registration for any website or website content that
does not constitute copyrightable subject matter or any content that lacks sufficient authorship.
Common examples of uncopyrightable material particular to websites include ideas or plans for
future websites; functional design elements; domain names or URLs; the layout, format, or “look and
feel” of a web page; or other common, unoriginal material such as names, icons, or familiar symbols.
Website Content
Websites usually contain multiple forms of content such as text, photographs, illustrations, and
other two-dimensional artwork. They may also contain other forms of content such as music, sound
recordings, and videos or other audiovisual works.
An individual work that appears on a website can be registered if it constitutes copyrightable
subject matter and contains a sufficient amount of original authorship. It should be registered
according to the predominant copyrightable content. For example, if you want to protect a blog
post consisting mainly of text, you can register the blog entry as a literary work. If you want to
protect a musical work that is available on a website, you can register it as a work of the performing
arts. Likewise, a photographer who displays or distributes her photographs on a website can register
these images as visual art works. In other words, works that are located on a website are registered in
much the same way as any other work, and the Office applies the same rules when examining them.
As a general rule, you should submit a separate application for each component work appearing
on the website, although it is possible to register multiple works on one application if they qualify
for one of the Office’s special registration accommodations. For example, if the works on a website
are of the same type and are unpublished, you may be able to register them using the group
registration of unpublished works option. For more information, see Multiple Works (Circular 34).
If the website contains a number of photographs, you may be able to register them using the group
option for published or unpublished photographs. For more information, see Copyright Registration
of Photographs (Circular 42). As discussed below, it may also be possible to register a website together
with the works contained on it if the site qualifies as a collective work, regardless of whether the
works are published or unpublished.