Cartoons and Comic Strips · 2
Blank forms can also be printed out and completed by hand
or requested by postal mail (limit two copies of any one form
by mail).
note: Copyright Oce fees are subject to change. For current
fees, check the Copyright Oce website at www.copyright.gov,
write the Copyright Oce, or call (202) 707-3000.
Deposit Requirements
The deposit requirements for cartoons and comic strips will
vary in particular situations. The general requirements are
as follows:
• If the work is unpublished, one complete copy.
• If the work was first published in the United States
before January 1, 1978, two complete copies of the work
as first published.
• If the work was first published in the United States on
or after January 1, 1978, two complete copies of the best
edition.
• If the work was first published outside the United States,
whenever published, one complete copy of the work as
first published.
• If the work is a contribution to a collective work and
first published on or after January 1, 1978, one of the
following: one complete copy of the best edition of the
entire collective work, the complete section containing
the contribution if published in a newspaper, the entire
page containing the contribution, the contribution cut
from the paper in which it appeared, or a photocopy of
the contribution itself as it was published in the collective
work. If first published before January 1, 1978, one
complete copy of the issue as first published containing
the contribution.
Registration of Collections and Contributions
A single registration can be made for cartoons published as
a unit (for example, a comic book), provided that the copy-
right claimant is the same for all elements in the unit.
Two or more unpublished cartoons or comic strips can be
considered for registration as a unit on a single application
when submitted with a nonrefundable filing fee and a nonre-
turnable deposit of the work if the following four conditions
are met:
• the selections are assembled in an orderly form;
• the combined selections bear a single title identifying the
collection as a whole;
• the copyright claimant in all the selections and in the col
-
lection as a whole is the same; and
• all the selections are by the same author, or, if they are by
different authors, at least one of the authors has contrib-
uted copyrightable authorship to each of the selections.
Works registered as a collection will be recorded in the
records of the Copyright Office only under the collection
title. Copyright registration of cartoons and comic strips
extends only to copyrightable selections deposited at the time of
registration. There is no blanket registration that will cover
works to be produced in the future.
A cartoon or comic strip published as a contribution to
a periodical (for example, a magazine or newspaper) may
be considered for group registration if certain conditions
are met. Contact the Copyright Office for information and
instructions on group registration for contributions
to periodicals.
Notice of Copyright
Before March 1, 1989, the use of a copyright notice was man-
datory on all published works, and any work first published
before that date should have carried a notice. For works
first published after March 1, 1989, the copyright notice is
optional. For details, see Circular 3, Copyright Notice.
Eective Date of Registration
When the Copyright Office issues a registration certificate, it
assigns as the effective date of registration the date it received
all required elements—an application, a nonrefundable
filing fee, and a nonreturnable deposit—in acceptable form,
regardless of how long it took to process the application and
mail the certificate.
You do not have to receive your certificate before you
publish or produce your work, nor do you need permis
-
sion from the Copyright Office to place a copyright notice
on your work. However, the Copyright Office must have
acted on your application before you can file a suit for copy-
right infringement, and certain remedies, such as statutory
damages and attorney’s fees, are available only for acts of
infringement that occurred after the effective date of regis-
tration. If a published work was infringed before the effective