Step by Step Instructions for Form VA for One Single Published Image
Section 1
- The Title should be something descriptive of the image (make sure you customize the information in green):
Photo of President George Bush published in Newsweek Magazine: May 1, 2005
Nature of Works: Photographs
Previous or Alternate Title: add any other description here
Author: Fill in your full name and the year you were born. (If you use a pseudonym, be sure to check our FAQ.)
If this isn’t a work for hire, check No.
Fill in your nationality and check No in the Anonymous and Pseudonymous boxes (unless that’s your intent).
Check Photograph
Section 3
Fill in the year and dates of publication in 3a and 3b.
Section 4
Put your name and address here. Leave Transfer blank.
Section 5
Check No if this is the first registration for these images.
Section 6
Skip this section if the image you are registering is completely original. A derivative work is one that builds upon an existing image (such as a composite of several items, or a digital alteration of a picture). For more discussion of this, see When is an image a “derivative work”? in this tutorial.
Section 7b
Put your name, address, phone, fax and E-mail address here.
Section 8 & 9
Check that you are the author. Fill out your name below and include your mailing address. (Whether you use your computer to fill in the form or not, you must always sign the Certification by hand.)
Include a check for the proper amount (currently $45, but double check with the Copyright Office web site). Keep copies of everything for your own records.
That’s it for form VA. Proceed here for instructions on mailing the information to the Copyright Office.