Enrichment · Passion Projects

The small print,
right before it prints.

Work down the copyright page line by line: notice, rights, edition, an ISBN for each format, publisher, credits and permissions. Every ISBN’s check digit is verified as you type, and registration and the Library of Congress deposit are tracked.

Check a copyright pageWhat you get

My books

The worked example is a made-up self-published novel with three formats and one mistyped ISBN. Checklists save on this device only.

Loading the book form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Enrichment · Passion ProjectsFree

What you finish with
A checklist per book with title, owner as printed, year, edition, formats and kind; ten copyright page lines marked On the page, Missing or N/A; each ISBN with its format and a check-digit test; registration and Library of Congress deposit status and the publication date; flags for an ISBN that fails its check, a format with no ISBN or two, a deposit due and a misplaced fiction disclaimer.
Who it is for
Students publishing a book for a class or a project, young and adult writers self-publishing, and teachers running a class anthology.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved page per book. Prints the checklist, all books or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Passion Projects space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Enter the title, owner, year, edition and formats.
  2. Go down the ten lines with a proof of your copyright page beside you.
  3. Type each ISBN with its format; a wrong digit is flagged at once.
  4. Register with the U.S. Copyright Office if you want to be able to sue for infringement and claim statutory damages.
  5. Send two copies to the Library of Congress within three months of publishing in the United States.

Check a copyright page

Behind the numbers

How an ISBN-13 check digit works9×17×39×18×38×18×34×11×32×13×34×15×38Multiply, add: 132.Next multiple of 10 is 140, so the check digit is 8.How an ISBN-13 check digit works9×17×39×18×38×18×34×11×32×13×34×15×38Multiply, add: 132.Next multiple of 10 is 140, so the check digit is 8.
One wrong digit, or two swapped neighbors, almost always breaks the sum, which is why a typo in an ISBN is caught here before it is printed on 500 copies.

Copyright is automatic

Your work is protected by copyright as soon as it is written down. The notice is optional for works published since 1989 but tells readers who owns it and blocks an innocent-infringement defense. Registering with the U.S. Copyright Office is needed before you can sue over a U.S. work, and registering early makes statutory damages and attorney’s fees available.

ISBNs and deposit

Each format of a book needs its own ISBN; a new edition needs a new one, a reprint does not. Works published in the United States must be deposited with the Library of Congress, two copies of the best edition within three months, unless a category is exempt; registration copies can often count toward it.

Sources

  1. U.S. Copyright Office. Circular 3: Copyright Notice (copyright.gov).
  2. U.S. Copyright Office. Circular 7d: Mandatory Deposit of Copies or Phonorecords for the Library of Congress, and 17 U.S.C. 407.
  3. International ISBN Agency. ISBN Users’ Manual (7th ed., 2017): one ISBN per format and the check digit.
  4. Library of Congress. Preassigned Control Number Program (loc.gov/publish/pcn).

The worked example is made up, and its ISBNs are not assigned to a real book. This checklist is not legal advice; for questions about rights or permissions, ask the U.S. Copyright Office or a lawyer. Checklists stay on this device until you print or export them. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.