Registering a copyright for podcasts

← Return to forum

• March 16, 2018 @ 11:59amschauch says:

  Hello,

  I'm trying to help a faculty member who is interested in starting her own podcasts. She wants to make sure it's protected and therefore would like to register her copyright with the Copyright Office. However, we're not sure if she needs to register just once for the entire podcast or if she needs to register each episode. I emailed the Copyright Office for clarification, and their response was essentially it depends on if the podcast is published (published, they would need to file separate applications for each episode; unpublished, it counts as a Standard Sound Recording application). 

  So are podcasts considered published? Streaming them online is a separate right, so does it depend on if people are able to download the podcasts? Would that be enough for it be considered published? 

  Any help on this is greatly appreciated!

  Teresa
• March 16, 2018 @ 12:06pmCarrie says:

  Teresa:

  My opinion is that podcasts are public - they are publicly available. 

  Carrie
• March 20, 2018 @ 6:13amcmyers8 says:

  You'll find some good information about what constitutes publication in this Circular: https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf#page=3. Based off the information found in this circular, I'd say the podcases would be considered published.

Posting to the forum is only available to users who are logged in.

← Return to forum