Publication

You can register a copyright for both published and unpublished works. A work is published when copies are distributed to the public through sale, lease, or lending. A work is not published because you merely printed or made copies of it. For a website, if it has already been posted to the Internet, it is considered "published."

Mandatory Deposit for Published Works

Although a copyright registration is not required, the Copyright Act establishes a mandatory deposit requirement for works published in the U.S. In general, the owner of copyright has a legal obligation to deposit two copies of a copyrightable work published in the United States be sent to the Copyright Office within 3 months of publication.

Mandatory deposit also applies to foreign works at the point where they are published in the United States through the distribution of copies that are either imported or are part of a U.S. edition.

However, the copyright law contains a provision under which a single deposit can be made to satisfy both the deposit requirements for the Library of Congress and for the registration. By registering a copyright you are complying with both deposit requirements - with a single deposit of your work.

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