Enrichment · Passion Projects

You made it.
Be able to show it.

Copyright belongs to the maker from the moment a work is saved, unless a job or a signed agreement says otherwise. If it is ever questioned, what counts is dated evidence and clear paperwork. Log each work, how it was made and the proof you keep, and see where ownership or registration needs attention.

Add a workWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Passion projects kit, $39 for 34 items.

Your works

The worked example is made up: a photo series published six weeks ago and not yet registered, and a logo made for a client with no signed agreement. Saved on this device only.

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

What you get

Enrichment · Passion Projects$5

What you finish with
A record per work: title, kind, the dates it was finished and first published, how it was made (on your own, with co-creators, as an employee, for a client), any signed agreement, registration status, the creators and each piece of evidence with its date and where it is kept. Counts dated evidence and days since publication; flags work for hire, client work without a signed writing, joint authorship, the three-month registration window and undated evidence.
Who it is for
Students, artists, writers, photographers, musicians and freelancers who make original work.
Format
Browser organizer with a saved record per work. Prints one work, every work in a table or a blank sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Passion projects kit ($39) and the Enrichment Suite pass ($119), and 1 more bundle. 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. Add the work with the date it was finished and first published.
  2. Say how it was made and whether anything was signed.
  3. List the evidence, each with the date it proves.
  4. Read the ownership notes.
  5. Register the works that matter most at copyright.gov.

Add a work

Who owns it

Who owns the copyright, in the U.S.On your ownYou own it the moment itis fixed: written,saved, recordedNo notice orregistration needed toown itAs an employeeWork in the scope of thejob is made for hireThe employer owns itunless a signed writingsays otherwiseFor a clientYou keep it unless yousign it overA work-for-hire clausecounts only for listedkinds of workWho owns the copyright, in the U.S.On your ownYou own it the moment it is fixed: written,saved, recordedNo notice or registration needed to own itAs an employeeWork in the scope of the job is made forhireThe employer owns it unless a signed writingsays otherwiseFor a clientYou keep it unless you sign it overA work-for-hire clause counts only forlisted kinds of work
Ownership and registration are separate: registration does not create the copyright, but it is what lets you enforce it in a U.S. court.

Evidence that holds up

The strongest proof is made at the time and hard to fake: original files with their metadata, drafts with version history, an email sending the work to someone else. Mailing a copy to yourself is not a substitute for registration.

Registering

Registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is done online at copyright.gov for a fee. A group of unpublished works or of published photographs can often be registered together in one application.

Sources

  1. U.S. Copyright Office. Circular 1: Copyright Basics (copyright.gov/circs).
  2. U.S. Copyright Office. Circular 30: Works Made for Hire (copyright.gov/circs).
  3. U.S. Copyright Office. Circular 38A: The Nuts and Bolts of Copyright, on registration and remedies (copyright.gov/circs).
  4. 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 201, 204, 411 and 412 (work made for hire, ownership, transfers in writing, registration before suit, remedies).

The worked examples are made up. This organizer describes U.S. copyright law in general terms and is not legal advice; for a dispute or a contract, talk to a lawyer. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.