US Copyright Office · Schema

CopyrightRegistration

A U.S. copyright registration record from the Copyright Public Records System, covering works registered from 1978 onward.

CopyrightFederal GovernmentIntellectual PropertyOpen Data

Properties

Name	Type	Description
registration_number	string	Official U.S. copyright registration number.
title	string	Title of the copyrighted work.
registration_date	string	Date the copyright registration was issued.
effective_date	string	Effective date of the copyright registration (usually date of deposit or application).
work_category	string	Category of the copyrighted work.
claimants	array	Copyright claimants (rights holders) for this work.
authors	array	Authors or creators of the work.
year_completed	integer	Year the work was completed or first published.
basis_of_claim	string	The basis for the copyright claim (e.g., new work, derivative).
previous_registration	string	Previous registration number if this is a derivative or revised work.
record_status	string	Current status of the registration record.

View JSON Schema on GitHub

JSON Schema

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "$id": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/us-copyright-office/refs/heads/main/json-schema/us-copyright-office-registration-schema.json",
  "title": "CopyrightRegistration",
  "description": "A U.S. copyright registration record from the Copyright Public Records System, covering works registered from 1978 onward.",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "registration_number": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Official U.S. copyright registration number.",
      "example": "TXu002345678"
    },
    "title": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Title of the copyrighted work.",
      "example": "Advanced Machine Learning Techniques"
    },
    "registration_date": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date",
      "description": "Date the copyright registration was issued."
    },
    "effective_date": {
      "type": "string",
      "format": "date",
      "description": "Effective date of the copyright registration (usually date of deposit or application)."
    },
    "work_category": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Category of the copyrighted work.",
      "enum": [
        "Architectural Drawings",
        "Art Works",
        "Choreography",
        "Dramatic Works",
        "Machine Readable Works",
        "Motion Pictures",
        "Musical Works",
        "Non-Dramatic Literary Works",
        "Photos/Slides",
        "Sound Recordings",
        "Technical Drawings",
        "Textiles",
        "Toys/Games"
      ]
    },
    "claimants": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Copyright claimants (rights holders) for this work.",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "name": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Name of the copyright claimant."
          },
          "claimant_type": {
            "type": "string",
            "enum": ["Individual", "Organization", "Estate"],
            "description": "Type of claimant entity."
          }
        },
        "required": ["name"]
      }
    },
    "authors": {
      "type": "array",
      "description": "Authors or creators of the work.",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "name": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Name of the author or creator."
          },
          "authorship": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "Nature of the author's contribution.",
            "example": "Text"
          }
        },
        "required": ["name"]
      }
    },
    "year_completed": {
      "type": "integer",
      "description": "Year the work was completed or first published.",
      "example": 2024
    },
    "basis_of_claim": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "The basis for the copyright claim (e.g., new work, derivative).",
      "enum": [
        "New Work",
        "Compilation",
        "Derivative Work",
        "Translation",
        "Revised Work"
      ]
    },
    "previous_registration": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Previous registration number if this is a derivative or revised work."
    },
    "record_status": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Current status of the registration record.",
      "enum": [
        "Active",
        "Cancelled",
        "Renewed",
        "Superseded"
      ]
    }
  },
  "required": ["registration_number", "title", "registration_date", "work_category"]
}