Copyright Information

This site contains general information about copyright law to assist University of Tennessee faculty, staff, and students in understanding this complex area of the law. It does NOT provide legal advice. Legal advice can only be given and received in direct consultation with counsel, based upon all facts and circumstances involved in a specific instance.

1. Some information you provide on your copyright registration will be available to the public and on the internet. You may wish to consider whether you want to include a business address or phone number instead of personal contact information, or any other optional.
2. Meet Our Network. Take a look at our amazing affiliate organisations. Browse by A-Z; Search for an Answer.
3. Copyright Office answers frequently asked questions about copyright, registration, and services.
4. Yes, there are three copyright registration fees: one for the completed application, one (nonrefundable) for filing, and one (nonrefundable) for a deposit. There are also fees associated with looking up copyright registrant information, transferring copyrights, reconsideration claims, and more.

The Center for Copyright Information (CCI) is an American organization focused on advocacy and initiatives in support of copyright law. The CCI aims to educate the public about copyright law; coordinates with copyright owners and Internet service providers (ISPs) about issues related to online copyright infringement; assists with the design, implementation, review, and promotion of an online infringement notification and mitigation system (the Copyright Alert System); collects and disseminates online infringement data; and promotes lawful means of obtaining copyrighted works.^[1] The organization was created as a partnership between industry associations, including the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, and five major American Internet service providers.

Background[edit]

The Center for Copyright Information was formed in September 2011 to coordinate efforts between the television, film and music industries and service providers to curb online copyright infringement and educate Internet subscribers about the issue.^[2] The RIAA began negotiations to create the Center for Copyright Information and its Copyright Alert System in December 2008, after it ceased a five-year litigation campaign against individual file sharers.^[3] Between 2003 and 2008, the RIAA adopted a practice of suing individual file sharers; previously it had focused on efforts to shut down peer-to-peer file sharing services.^[4]

The MPAA and RIAA, along with the Independent Film & Television Alliance and American Association of Independent Music, as associations representing independent producers in their fields, reached an agreement in July 2011 with five large ISPs to create the Copyright Alerts System.^[3] The trade groups argued copyright infringement was costing the U.S. economy hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in lost earnings and tax revenue annually.^[5] New York Governor Andrew Cuomo helped bring parties to the table as part of his 2008 work with Internet service providers to block access to online child pornography.^[6] Under the July 2011 agreement, several U.S. Internet service providers, including Verizon Communications, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision Systems and AT&T agreed to send alerts to customers who appeared to be using their accounts for illegal downloading.^[5][7] At the time of the agreement 75% of all broadband internet usage was provided by one of these five companies.^[8] The Memorandum of Understanding established that copyright holders and ISP’s would split the costs of the system 50/50.^[9] According to the CCI’s first tax filing, chronicling the first 8 months of the companies operations, CSA operation costs were $1,377,633.00.^[10] In July 2011, the Obama administration praised the formation of the CCI on the official White House Blog as 'a positive step” and consistent with the executive branch’s strategy of encouraging voluntary intellectual property enforcement.^[11] In 2011, the CCI had its corporate status revoked according to the Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs for failing to file the proper paperwork, which they quickly resolved.^[12] In 2013, the CCI announced it would be supporting iKeepSafe’s pilot program. iKeepSafe, is an independently created curriculum designed to educate children about copyright law and fair use in the digital age.^[13]

Leadership and advisors[edit]

CCI is led by an executive committee, with Executive Director Jill Lesser as its head. Lesser was previously the senior vice president of domestic public policy for AOL, as well as the deputy director of public policy at People for the American Way.^[14]

In addition, the CCI has an advisory board which 'consults actively on issues the Executive Committee is considering.'^[14] The CCI's original advisory board includes consumer advocates Jerry Berman, founder of the Center for Democracy and Technology; Gigi Sohn, president and CEO of Public Knowledge; and Jules Polonetsky, director and co-chair of the Future of Privacy Forum.^[14][15] Leslie Harris, former President of the Center of Democracy and Technology replaced Gigi Sohn when she was asked by the Chairman of Federal Communication’s Commission, Tom Wheeler, to run the FCC’s External Affairs branch.^[16]

Copyright Alert System[edit]

The Copyright Alert System uses third parties to identify when copyrighted information is shared via peer-to-peer services. These third parties inform Internet service providers, which then send an alert to the relevant customer. The Copyright Alert System was launched in February 2013 by the Center for Copyright Information.^[17] The CCI has stated that the primary goal of the system is 'to make consumers aware of activity that has occurred using their Internet accounts, educate them on how they can prevent such activity from happening again, and provide information about the growing number of ways to access digital content legally.'^[18]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Memorandum of Understanding; Aug. 2011 amendment; Oct. 2012 amendment.
2. ^'Center for Copyright Information Announces Three Major Steps Towards Implementation'. www.copyrightinformation.org. Center for Copyright Information. April 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
3. ^ ^abKravets, David (7 July 2011). 'ISPs to Disrupt Internet Access of Copyright Scofflaws'. Wired. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
4. ^Kravets, David (18 May 2010). 'Copyright Lawsuits Plummet in Aftermath of RIAA Campaign'. Wired. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
5. ^ ^abRichwine, Lisa (7 July 2011). 'Internet providers to act against online pirates'. Reuters. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
6. ^Sisario, Ben (7 July 2011). 'To Slow Piracy, Internet Providers Ready Penalties'. The New York Times. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
7. ^Engelman, Eric (7 July 2011). 'AT&T Joins Verizon in Fighting Web Piracy of Movies, Music'. Bloomberg. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
8. ^Ernesto (August 3, 2012). 'HAS YOUR ISP JOINED THE US 'SIX STRIKES' ANTI-PIRACY SCHEME?'. Torrent Freak. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
9. ^Ernesto (17 October 2013). ''SIX STRIKES'COPYRIGHT ALERT SYSTEM COSTS MILLIONS'. Torrent Freak. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
10. ^'Center For Copyright Information Tax Return 2011'(PDF). IRS Form 2011. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2014-03-07. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
11. ^Victoria Espinel (7 July 2011). 'Working Together to Stop Internet Piracy'. www.whitehouse.gov. The White House. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
12. ^Sam. 'US Center for Copyright Information Lost Its Title'. Extra Torrent. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
13. ^Mann, Colin. 'Six strikes' effective in piracy fight'. Advanced Television. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
14. ^ ^abc'About the Center for Copyright Information'. www.copyrightinformation.org. Center for Copyright Information. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
15. ^Masnick, Mike (2 April 2012). 'Organization Overseeing Six Strikes Agreement Between Labels And ISPs Includes Advisory Board To Try To Keep Tech Folks Happy'. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
16. ^Tummarello, Kate (25 February 2014). ''Six strikes' thwarting piracy, leader says'. The Hill. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
17. ^Stewart, Christopher (26 February 2013). 'Warning System Launched for Movie, Music Pirates'. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
18. ^Jill Lesser Espinel. 'The Copyright Alert System: Moving to Implementation'. www.copyrightinformation.org. Center for Copyright Information. Retrieved 20 February 2013.

External links[edit]

One of the most common questions I get from new self-publishers is, “What do I put on the copyright page?” For some reason, the copyright page has the power to intimidate some people, with its small print and legalistic language, not to mention all those mysterious numbers.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are a few necessary items on the copyright page, and others that publishers add for various reasons. I’ve treated the copyright page in some detail in other posts, so if you want background please check here: Self-Publishing Basics: The Copyright Page. In a guest post, Joanne Bolton supplied some useful information for books that are printed overseas, and you can find her post here: Copyright Page Requirements for Books Printed Overseas.

To see the place of the copyright page within the book as a whole, check out An Unabridged List of the Parts of a Book.

The only elements required on a copyright page are the copyright notice itself:

© 2009 Joel Friedlander

Copyright Information For Books

And some statement giving notice that the rights to reproduce the work are reserved to the copyright holder.

All Rights Reserved.

Next you’ll see two versions of the copyright page, one long page with a CIP data block and a short version. Feel free to copy and paste these into your book file. Just remember to put your own information in.

Sample of a Long Copyright Page with CIP Data Block

Here’s an example of a copyright page that has the necessary elements, then adds ordering information, web address, CIP Data block (I’ve put this in blue so you can identify what is included; replace this with your own or delete it if you’re not obtaining CIP), edition information, and printing numbers (the string at the bottom) and dates for future editions.

Copyright © 2010 by Bill Shakespeare

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.

Imaginary Press
1233 Pennsylvania Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94909
www.imaginarypress.com

Ordering Information:
Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address above.
Orders by U.S. trade bookstores and wholesalers. Please contact Big Distribution: Tel: (800) 800-8000; Fax: (800) 800-8001 or visit www.bigbooks.com.

Printed in the United States of America

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
Shakespeare, William.
A title of a book : a subtitle of the same book / Bill Shakespeare ; with Ben Johnson.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-9000000-0-0
1. The main category of the book —History —Other category. 2. Another subject category —From one perspective. 3. More categories —And their modifiers. I. Johnson, Ben. II. Title.
HF0000.A0 A00 2010
299.000 00–dc22 2010999999

First Edition

14 13 12 11 10 / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

A Short Copyright Page Example

Here’s a very short and to the point copyright page. It gives the necessary elements and not much more:

Copyright © 2010 by Wily E. Coyote
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, 2010

ISBN 0-9000000-0-0

Falling Anvil Publishing
123 Mesa Street
Scottsdale, AZ 00000

www.FallingAnvilBooks.com

This is the quick and easy way to get generic copyright page language into your book. Even with this short example, your copyright page will do the job it’s supposed to do, and give interested parties the means to contact you for publishing-related questions.

Copyright Information For Songs

Next: Tomorrow we’ll cover using disclaimers and giving credit on the copyright page. Watch for it, and let me know if you have questions about the copyright page. I’ll see if I can answer them.

Want to know more about copyright? Need some sample copyright pages to drop into your book? Confused about the things you read online about copyright? Check out this 30-page easy-to-read guide. Click The Self-Publisher’s Quick & Easy Guide to Copyright for more info, or Buy Now as PDF or Kindle.

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