U.S. Copyright Office Website Undergoes Redesign

Posted on May 2, 2002

The U.S. Copyright Office website recently underwent a redesign. The new design includes a new look, quick access menu, tabs, a search engine and a helpful guide to copyright registration. The new design is a result of analysis from a user survey conducted by the Copyright Office early last year. The Copyright Office has also announced plans for online copyright registration.

The Copyright Office has received very little USPS mail since the deadly anthrax mailings last year. They also recently received some mail that was damaged because of the irradiation procedure. However, the Copyright Office has procedures in place to help it deal with the growing backlog and handle requests and questions from the public.

One of the new enhancements on the redesigned website includes a navigational bar with tabs for the most frequently requested pages, which can be found at the top of the page on every page of the website. The site also provides a search engine so users can search for Copyright Office registrations and documents and a guide to copyright registration, arranged by category of work, with helpful pop-up menus. The site was also streamlined to load faster and contains a small amount of graphics so it will load quickly even for those with lower bandwidth.

From the survey the Copyright Office found that the majority of its visitors were first-time or occasional users who were authors, artists, or other types of creators. The respondents also requested simplified language, a search engine and a more direct guide on how to register their works. They also asked for online registration. Online registration is one of the goals of the Copyright Office's business process reengineering program.