Author(s) and Titles of the Photographs, Artwork, and Liner Notes

What can be registered with this application?

You may register up to 20 sound recordings with this application. You may also register photographs, artwork, or liner notes that were first published on the same album.

There is no limit on the number of photos, artwork, or liner notes that may be submitted with your claim. But you must include at least two sound recordings with this application. You cannot register photos, artwork, or liner notes by themselves.

To register these types of works, you must satisfy certain requirements. If your works do not satisfy these requirements, the Copyright Office may remove them from your application or may refuse to register the entire claim. You may then choose to resubmit a separate application, deposit, and filing fee for each work.

Eligibility Requirements

• Each work must be a literary work, pictorial work, or graphic work, such as a photo, cover art, or liner notes.
• All of the works must be first published on the album and on the same date.
• All of the sound recordings, photos, artwork, and liner notes must be created by the same author, or all of these works must have a common author. Read more.
• The works may be registered as works made for hire if they are identified in the application as such.
• Note: The Copyright Office has developed a questionnaire that may be useful in determining whether a particular work qualifies as a “work made for hire.” To complete the questionnaire and to read more information about this topic, read Circular 30.
• Finally, the copyright claimant or co-claimants for all of the sound recordings, photos, artwork, and liner notes must be the same person(s) or the same organization. Read more.

Tips for Registering Photos, Artwork, or Liner Notes

You must complete this part of the application if you want to register photos, artwork, or liner notes. If you do not want to register these types of works, leave this screen blank and click “Continue” to proceed to the “Claimant” screen.

There are two things to keep in mind before you complete this part of the application.

• First, the photos, artwork, and liner notes must be created by the same person or organization that created or co-created your sound recordings. In other words, all of the works must be created by the same author or all of the works must have a common author. This means that at least one of the authors must have contributed copyrightable authorship to all of the sound recordings, photos, artwork, or liner notes that you submit to the Copyright Office. Read more.
• Second, the copyright claimant for the sound recordings, photos, artwork, and liner notes must be the same person or the same organization. Read more.

Who is the copyright claimant?

The claimant is the author or co-author of all of the works being registered, or the person or organization that owns all of the exclusive rights that initially belonged to an author of all of the works being registered.

Can I name the author as the copyright claimant?

Yes. If you plan to name the author or co-authors as the copyright claimant(s), then all of the sound recordings, photos, artwork, and liner notes in the group being registered must be created by the same author, or the works must have a common joint author. Read more.

Can I name a third party as the copyright claimant, such as a record label?

A third party – such as a record label – may be named as the copyright claimant if that party owns all of the exclusive rights that initially belonged to an author of all of the works being registered.

In this situation, you should only list the works that are owned by the copyright claimant. If the claimant does not own all of the exclusive rights that initially belonged to an author of the photos, artwork, or liner notes, do not list those works on this screen. Read more.

Click here for examples that illustrate this requirement.

Completing the “Authors and Titles of the Photos, Artwork, and/or Liner Notes” Being Registered Screen

To register photos, artwork, or liner notes, click “New.” A new screen will appear. Be sure to read all of the instructions and examples shown on this screen before you proceed!

You must identify the author of the works you want to register. If the works were co-created by two or more co-authors, you must identify each author in the application.

Generally, the author of a photograph is the person who shoots the photograph. The author of a piece of artwork is the person who sketches, draws, or paints the image. And the author of liner notes is the person who writes the text.

If any of the works were created as works made for hire, then the employer or the party that ordered or commissioned that work is considered the author, rather than the individual who actually created the photo, artwork, or liner notes.

Identify the Authors of the Photographs, Artwork, or Liner Notes

Enter the author’s name in the spaces provided.

If the works were created by an individual, enter that person’s name in the “Individual Author” space.

Note: Click here for information about registering Anonymous and Pseudonymous Works.

If the works were created by an organization, such as a record label, enter the organization’s name in the space provided and select “yes” in the “Work Made For Hire” space. Note: A performing group should not be named as the author of the works, unless the group is a legal entity that created the photos, artwork, or liner notes as a work made for hire.

Note: Click here for information about registering works made for hire.

Citizenship/Domicile

You should identify the author’s country of citizenship and/or domicile. To enter this information select one of the countries listed in the drop down menu.

“Citizenship” means that the author is a citizen of a particular nation or the author owes permanent allegiance to a particular country, even though he or she is not a citizen of that nation.

“Domicile” is the nation where the author has a fixed and permanent residence, where the author intends to maintain his or her residence for an unlimited time, and whenever absent where the author intends to return.

Year of Birth / Year of Death

If the works were created by an individual and if that person is deceased, you must enter the author’s year of death in the space provided. This information is required, because the length of the copyright term may be based on the year that the author died.

If you like, you may provide the author’s year of birth. This information is entirely optional. But please note that if you complete this part of the application, the author’s year of birth will appear on the certificate and the Office’s online public database.

Identify the Photographs, Artwork, or Liner Notes Created by this Author

Once you’ve identified the author, select the term from the “Author Created” field that best describes the works created or co-created by this author.

Once you’ve entered all the information requested, click the “Save” button at the top of your screen. If the photos, artwork, or liner notes were created by two or more co-authors, you should provide the requested information for each author. To do so, click the “New” button and then repeat the steps described above.

Title Information

A generic title will be automatically added to your application if you complete the screen for “Authors and Titles of the Photos, Artwork, and/or Liner Notes Being Registered.” The title will consist of the term you selected from the “Author Created” field, followed by the phrase “first published on the album,” followed by the album title.

For example, if you selected “text of liner notes” from the drop down menu and if those works were first published on the album “Seaside Vacation,” the following title will be automatically added to your application:

Example:

• Author created: Text of liner notes
• Album title: Seaside Vacation
• Generic title: Text of liner notes first published on the album Seaside Vacation

The generic title will be used to identify the works that you listed in the application. It will appear on the certificate and in the Copyright Office’s online public record.

Note: If you would like to provide a specific title for your photographs, artwork, or liner notes, you may enter the title of the work in the “Note to Copyright Office” space on the “Certification” screen. Be sure to identify all of the authors of that work, and add a brief statement that identifies the type of work being registered (such as “this is the title for the album cover artwork” or “this is the title of the photo on page 3 of the insert”). If you upload a digital copy of your photographs, artwork, or liner notes, be sure that the name assigned to the digital file matches the corresponding title that you enter in the “Note to Copyright Office” space. If the titles and the file names do not match each other, the Office may remove that work from your application or may refuse to register the entire claim.