Copyright Office Releases Report on the Geography of Copyright Registrations

Today, the U.S. Copyright Office is releasing a report, The Geography of Copyright Registrations. The study examines the geographic distribution of copyright claims registered by individuals and organizations within the United States. The purpose of the report is to better understand where the copyright system is used and how patterns of registrations differ across areas within the country.

“Understanding these patterns of registration activity will help us better identity the socioeconomic factors that influence creative and innovative activity,” said Chief Economist Brent Lutes. “In this report, we identified whether registrations were filed by groups or individuals, looked at registrations at the state level and within more precise localities, and then analyzed the geographic distribution of registration for different types of works.”

The report reveals:

• The majority of copyright registrations originate from a handful of large metropolitan areas. Approximately 40 percent of all copyright registrations originate from just five: New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and Chicago.
• Within the United States, certain geographic areas specialize in different types of creative works. For example, registrants in the South register many copyrights for musical works, registrants in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states register many literary works, and registrants in California specialize in film and dramatic works.
• Some areas have a high volume of registrations simply because of their large populations. When controlling for population, numerous locations at the city level emerge where individuals, companies, or universities are registering high concentrations of creative works.

This report uses data from copyright claims registered between 2009 and 2022. A forthcoming report will focus on the demographics of copyright registrations in the United States.