Registering collections of related items

Collection of documentsWe are often asked if it is possible to register a collection of related copyright works as a single item, and therefore only pay a single registration fee.

Typical examples would be:

  • Collections of poetry.
  • An number of music tracks, i.e. an album, EP, demo, etc. containing multiple songs.
  • Collections of photographs.
  • Card designs.
  • Other collections of artwork, drawings etc.

The simple answer is ‘Yes’, but there are however a few conditions to consider:

Cassette tape of multiple songsThe items being submitted should make sense as a single project or logical collection.

For example, if you were registering a music album as a single work, it would be normal to include any of the following:

  • The songs themselves (i.e. audio recordings).
  • Artwork for the cover and inlay card.
  • Lyrics used on the album.
  • Supporting documents, such as musical score, notation, midi files, etc. that directly relate to the songs on the album.

You should not include items that are not directly related to the work being registered. Unrelated items should be treated as such and registered separately.

The registration should reflect reality - if there are really two works there should be two registrations.

A registration can only have a single title.

As a registration may only have a single title - The ‘title of work’ on the application form, you should therefore choose an overall title that describes the collection as a whole.

In our example of a music album, it would be normal for the work title on the registration form to be the album title, (not a list of song titles).

The individual titles of separate items, (if they have titles), would become part of the content of the overall registration. The registration title should be regarded as a simple ‘one liner’ that means something to you and will identify the work to you.

There is also an ’additional information‘ area on the application form where you can enter extra information to help you identify the items deposited if you need to.

The copyright ownership of all the items submitted together should be the same.

If this is not practical, then all owners should agree to the submission and we would recommend that a separate record of individual ownership is kept by the registrant detailing the individual assignment of rights.

To register a collection of related items under a single registration, simply enter a single collective title to identify the work (e.g. the project name, album title, or an arbitrary name for the collection) as the ‘title of work’ on the application form, and treat the collection as a single work.

Collection of photosUse zip archive format if you have lots of files

If you have a lot of files to upload, or if you need to preserve the directory structure, then we strongly recommend creating a zip archive containing all the files.

It is far easier to upload a single zip file than lots of individual files, and zip compression will also make your upload faster.

Please see our guidance on using zip files for full details.

Dealing with changes

If you are submitting a collection of items and you plan to add items later, this can be handled using our update facility.

A typical case for this would be a designer submitting a collection of designs and then creating more designs later that are part of the same range or collection.
In our example of a music album above, it could be that the songwriter has not yet finished the album and plans to add more songs to the album later.

In these cases, it is normal to submit the work to date when you make the initial registration and then submit an update later on when you have more work to include or the project is completed.

Updates to an existing registration are charged at a reduced rate (currently £21.25 if you submit online). Please see our 'Updating Copyright Registrations' fact sheet for full details of the update facility.