How to Copyright a Book or Novel

General rules for copyrights of books and novels

Your book or other literary work can be protected by copyright law if it meets two criteria:

1. It must be your original work. It must originate with you and show some minimal amount of creativity. It can’t consist of a mere list of factual information, such as the alphabetical listing of names in the phone book. You cannot copyright a book’s title or the names of characters.
2. It must be fixed in a tangible object such as paper or a computer. A story that you make up and tell to your children is not copyrightable unless you write it down or record it. A book or novel does not need to have literary merit to receive copyright protection.

Rights protected by copyright

The copyright to your book or novel is actually a group of exclusive rights:

• The right to make copies
• The right to sell or distribute copies
• The right to prepare derivative works based upon your book
• The right to publicly display your book

When does copyright protection begin?

A literary work is copyrighted as soon as the words are written down, typed, or otherwise recorded. Therefore, copyright protection for your novel begins as soon as you have written it.

You do not need to place a copyright notice on your book or register it with the Copyright Office in order to be protected by copyright law.

For literary works published after 1978, copyright protection lasts for the author’s lifetime, plus 70 years, after which, the book enters the public domain. For works that are published anonymously, copyright protection lasts 95 years from the first publication, or 120 years after the work was created, whichever comes first.

Works published after 1978 do not need to have their copyrights renewed, while works published before that date may be renewed every 28 years.

Why should you register a copyright?

There are several advantages to officially registering a copyright for your book or novel:

• Registration creates a record of your copyright ownership and may help deter others from copying your work. 
• You cannot sue someone for copyright infringement unless you have registered your copyright.
• If you register your copyright within three months of publication or before an infringement occurs, you can recover statutory damages and attorney fees if you sue someone for copyright infringement. Statutory damages can be greater than your actual damages, and you are not required to prove your loss or the infringer’s profits to recover statutory damages.
• If your book is published, registration fulfills a requirement that you deposit two copies of your work with the Library of Congress within three months of its publication. You can also file your contact information with the Library of Congress to make it easier for others to find you if they wish to lawfully license your work.

How to register a copyright in 7 steps

Registering your copyright is simple, and you have the option to submit your registration by mail or complete it electronically. Electronic registration—called "eCo" on the U.S. Copyright Office website—is generally recommended since the cost is significantly lower and the electronic system allows users to track their registration’s progress.

The steps below focus on how to copyright a book online, but we’ll also touch on how you can print out the relevant forms and mail them to the Copyright Office, if you so choose.

Step 1: Create an account on the U.S. Copyright office website

Visit the U.S. Copyright Office website and navigate to the registration portal using the dropdown menu on the upper right hand side of the home page. If you have an existing login, you can enter it here. Otherwise, follow the prompts to create a new account.

If you don’t wish to create an electronic account, you can download Form TX and fill it out, following the included instructions. Note that paper applications must be filled out using blue or black ink.

Step 2: Initiate a new registration

Once you are logged in to your account, initiate a registration by selecting “Standard Application” from the list of options on the left hand side of the screen. After reviewing the list of requirements on the overview screen, and confirming your book fits all the requirements for registration, click “Start Registration.”

On the page that follows, select the type of intellectual property you intend to register. For books, this would be the “literary work” option. Once selected, check the box confirming you’ve read the description of each type of work and selected the correct one. Then, click “Continue.”

Step 3: Fill out the application

The following screens will walk you step-by-step through each field of the application. These fields mimic the ones found on paper Form TX, albeit in a slightly different order, and include:

• The title of your book
• The year your work was completed
• The year that your work was published (if applicable)
• The country where your work was first published (if applicable)
• ISBN number (if applicable)
• Author name and information
• Name and address of copyright claimant (fill in even if information is the same as the author)
• A transfer statement—if the claimant is different from the author—that explains how the claimant obtained copyright ownership (if applicable)
• Information on any previously registered material your book might contain (if applicable)
• Rights and permissions contact information to be included in the office’s catalog (optional)
• Address where the completed registration should be sent

Step 4: Certify your submission

Check the box that certifies that you have the right to submit the registration. Once checked, you’ll be taken to a screen where you can review and confirm all of your information before submitting.

Step 5: Pay the filing fee

Click “Add to Cart” to progress to the payment page and submit your registration fee. When submitting online, the fee for a single literary work by a single author is $45.

You’ll receive an electronic receipt from the Copyright Office once your registration and payment have been received.

Step 6: Submit a copy of your book

You can submit an electronic copy of your work using one of the approved file types listed on your final submission overview page. Look for the words “Successfully Uploaded” to appear on your submission page.

If you prefer to send a physical copy of your book at this stage, click “Print Shipping Slip” at the bottom of the screen and click the shipping slip attachment link to open and print your slip. Attach it to your book and mail to the Copyright Office using the address listed on the slip.

Step 7: Await confirmation of your registration

The last step of your copyright registration process is to await confirmation that the U.S. Copyright Office has reviewed and approved your registration. Waiting times can vary based on a number of factors, such as how you submitted your application and how difficult your case was to review. Expect to wait anywhere between one and eight months to receive your confirmation.

How much does it cost to copyright a book?

At the time of writing, the fees required for each type of registration are as follows:

• Electronic registration, single application (one work by one author)—$45
• Electronic registration, standard application—$65
• Paper registration, Form TX—$125

Types of books that can be copyrighted

There are several different types of written works that can be copyrighted. These include:

• A book you wrote, either alone or with another author, such as a novel, biography, memoir, cookbook, or nonfiction book.
• A collection of shorter works that you wrote and compiled into a book, such as a book of poems or short stories.
• A compilation of pre-existing works, such as an anthology of the best short fiction of the year. In this type of book, the copyright extends only to new content that you prepared for the compilation and the selection, coordination, and arrangement of the book's material. It does not extend to the underlying material itself. 

But physical books aren’t the only literary works that can be copyrighted. Reference works, directories, catalogs, short online literary works, advertising copy, compilations of information, computer programs, and databases may all be protected by copyright laws.

Protect your written works with LegalZoom

While you don’t need to hire a professional to file a copyright registration on your behalf, doing so can afford some peace of mind. Copyright rules can be nuanced, depending on the type of literary work you are registering, and the registration process can be tedious and time consuming to complete. 

LegalZoom’s copyright registration service can take some of the guesswork out of the process. Your application will be double-checked by our team so you can feel confident your creative work has been registered correctly. 

FAQs

Do I need to publish my book to copyright it? 

Copyright protection is available for unpublished books as well as published ones.

The Copyright Office considers your book to be “published” when copies are distributed or offered to the public, either in print or digitally.

You can register a copyright in an unpublished book or manuscript. If a publishing company later publishes your book, you may be asked to assign all or part of the rights to the publisher. An assignment transfers a copyright to someone else. Exclusive rights can only be assigned by written agreement.

Can I copyright a book idea?

Your copyright is effective the moment your idea is put down in writing—the “in writing” part being key to the answer to this question. An idea itself cannot be copyrighted.

In theory, you could write a detailed outline of your book idea and the outline itself would be copyrighted from the moment you write it down. However, it’s important to remember that copyright doesn’t protect ideas by themselves, but rather the way you express those ideas, so the more fleshed out your story is, the stronger your claim to copyright protection will be.

How long does copyright registration take?

As noted above, copyright registration processing times can vary widely depending on how difficult the review process is and whether additional information is needed to make a decision about your claim.

The average wait time, according to the U.S. Copyright office website, is 1.9 months. Timelines for submissions received entirely online are anywhere from 1–3 months; electronic registrations that include a mailed-in physical copy of the book take 2–6 months; and paper registrations take 4–8 months.

If I send a physical copy of my book with my registration, will I get it back?

No, physical copies of literary works are kept on file at the Library of Congress and are not sent back to the copyright owner.

What should I do if someone copies my book?

Stealing someone else’s work is known as copyright infringement and can have legal consequences for the person committing the infringement. If you're a copyright holder and

you think someone has used your work in a way that infringes on your rights, the first step is often sending a copyright infringement notice notifying them that they are in violation of intellectual property laws and providing them the opportunity to correct the issue. 

If that doesn’t work, you may consult an attorney on next steps, which could involve taking legal action against the offending party. You may also need to provide proof that their use of your copyrighted material does not constitute fair use, and that you are the rightful copyright owner—which is where your copyright registration can give you authority. 

Jane Haskins, Esq. contributed to this article