Copyright registrations for 1977

Copyright registrations from 1977 are available from this page. Registrations were classified by category, with renewals included in the same volume as original registration in most cases.

The following types of records are available here:

A guide to abbreviations used in the records is now available, as are some summary statistics.

1977 original copyrights could have renewals filed in 2004 and 2005 (see the Copyright Office database for registrations for these years), but they automatically renewed even if no renewal was filed. Original copyrights for 1977 renewals date from 1949 and 1950. 1949 copyrights could also be renewed in 1976, and 1950 copyrights could also be renewed in 1978. To find out more about researching copyright renewals, see this page.

To see if a book can go online, you may have to check not only the "Books" category, but also the "periodicals" category, if parts of the book first appeared in a periodical, and the "artwork" category if you want to scan any of the illustrations. If the book is a play, or a set of lectures or addresses, check the "Drama and Works Prepared for Oral Delivery" category too.

Books and Contributions to periodicals: Original registrations and renewals

The volumes for Part 1 (Books, Pamphlets, Serials, and Contributions to Periodicals) were published semiannually, and included both original and renewal registrations. Name and title indexes also appeared in associated volumes, also linked below.

Periodicals: Original registrations and renewals

The volumes for Part 2 (Periodicals) were published semiannually, and included both original and renewal registrations.

Drama: Original registrations and renewals

The volumes for Parts 3-4 (Dramas and Works Prepared for Oral Delivery) were published semiannually, and included both original and renewal registrations.

Music: Original registrations and renewals

Maps: Original registrations and renewals

The volumes for Part 6 (Maps and Atlases) were published semiannually, and included both original and renewal registrations.

Artwork: Original registrations and renewals

The volumes for parts 7-11A (Works of Art; Reproductions of Works of Art; Scientific and Technical Drawings; Photographic Works; Prints and Pictorial Illustrations) were published semiannually, and included both original and renewal registrations.

Commercial prints and labels: Original registrations and renewals

The annual volume for part 11B (Commercial Prints and Labels) included both original and renewal registrations.

Motion pictures: Original registrations and renewals

The volumes for Parts 12 and 13 (Motion Pictures) were published semiannually, and included both original and renewal registrations. Copies of both volumes bound together are available at the Internet Archive (Copyright Office scan) and HathiTrust (Google scan). Key pages of the Internet Archive copy:

Sound recordings

The volumes for Part 14 (Sound Recordings) were published semiannually. As copyright registration for sound recordings only began in the 1970s, there were no renewals made this year.

Summary statistics

Copyright Registrations for Books, Pamphlets, Serials, and Contributions to Periodicals, January-June 1977
Books, pamphlets, and serials manufactured in the United States 57,214
Books manufactured abroad (except those registered for ad interim copyright) 3,242
Books in the English language registered for ad interim copyright 396
Total 60,852
Contributions to newspapers and periodicals 1,646
Renewals: Books, pamphlets, and serials 4,373
Renewals: Contributions to periodicals [not given in part 1]
Copyright Registrations for Books, Pamphlets, Serials, and Contributions to Periodicals, July-December 1977
Books, pamphlets, and serials manufactured in the United States 66,040
Books manufactured abroad (except those registered for ad interim copyright) 3,434
Books in the English language registered for ad interim copyright 419
Total 69,893
Contributions to newspapers and periodicals 1,652
Renewals: Books, pamphlets, and serials 4,737
Renewals: Contributions to periodicals [not given in Part 1]
Copyright Registrations of Periodicals, January-June 1977
Periodicals manufactured in the United States 52,451
Periodicals manufactured abroad (except those registered for ad interim copyright) 647
Periodicals in the English language registered for ad interim copyright 362
Total 53,460
Renewals 2,637
Copyright Registrations of Periodicals, July-December 1977
Periodicals manufactured in the United States 55,968
Periodicals manufactured abroad (except those registered for ad interim copyright) 701
Periodicals in the English language registered for ad interim copyright 367
Total 57,036
Renewals 3,574
Copyright Registrations of Dramas and Works Prepared for Oral Delivery, January-June 1977
Class C: Lectures and other works prepared for oral delivery 814
Class D: Domestic published dramatic and dramatico-musical works 276
Class D: Foreign published dramatic and dramatico-musical works 15
Class D: Unpublished dramatic and dramatico-musical works 2,404
Total 3,509
Renewals, Classes C and D 289
Copyright Registrations of Dramas and Works Prepared for Oral Delivery, July-December 1977
Class C: Lectures and other works prepared for oral delivery 1,000
Class D: Domestic published dramatic and dramatico-musical works 349
Class D: Foreign published dramatic and dramatico-musical works 37
Class D: Unpublished dramatic and dramatico-musical works 2,735
Total 4,121
Renewals, Classes C and D 398
Copyright Registrations of Music, January-June 1977
Domestic published musical compositions 7,821
Foreign published musical compositions 3,255
Unpublished music 55,487
Total 66,563
Renewals 6,755
Copyright Registrations of Music, July-December 1977
Domestic published musical compositions 10,151
Foreign published musical compositions 4,484
Unpublished music 61,874
Total 76.509
Renewals 7,372
Copyright Registrations for Maps, January-June 1977
Class F: Domestic published maps 1,046
Class F: Foreign published maps 3
Total 1,049
Renewals 196
Copyright Registrations for Maps, July-December 1977
Class F: Domestic published maps 962
Class F: Foreign published maps 7
Total 969
Renewals 407
Copyright Registrations for Artwork, January-June 1977
Class G: Domestic published works of art and designs for works of art 4,549
Class G: Foreign published works of art and designs for works of art 126
Class G: Unpublished works of art and designs for works of art 2,047
Class H: Domestic published reproductions of works of art 2,399
Class H: Foreign published reproductions of works of art 29
Class I: Domestic published drawings or sculptural works of a scientific or technical character 378
Class I: Unpublished drawings or sculptural works of a scientific or technical character 326
Class J: Domestic published photographs 839
Class J: Unpublished photographs 198
Class K: Domestic prints and pictorial illustrations 3,179
Class K: Foreign prints and pictorial illustrations 2
Total 14,072
Renewals, Classes G-K 244
Copyright Registrations for Artwork, July-December 1977
Class G: Domestic published works of art and designs for works of art 6,754
Class G: Foreign published works of art and designs for works of art 277
Class G: Unpublished works of art and designs for works of art 2,453
Class H: Domestic published reproductions of works of art 2,290
Class H: Foreign published reproductions of works of art 95
Class I: Domestic published drawings or sculptural works of a scientific or technical character 565
Class I: Foreign published drawings or sculptural works of a scientific or technical character 4
Class I: Unpublished drawings or sculptural works of a scientific or technical character 317
Class J: Domestic published photographs 1.019
Class J: Foreign published photographs 19
Class J: Unpublished photographs 415
Class K: Domestic prints and pictorial illustrations 5,083
Class K: Foreign prints and pictorial illustrations 38
Total 19,329
Renewals, Classes G-K 286
Copyright Registrations for Commercial Prints and Labels, January-December 1977
Domestic published commercial prints and labels 3,117
Foreign published commercial prints and labels 105
Total 3,222
Renewals 33 [sic]
Copyright Registrations for Motion Pictures, January-June 1977
Class L: Domestic published motion picture photoplays 1,107
Class L: Foreign published motion picture photoplays 23
Class L: Unpublished motion picture photoplays 18
Class M: Domestic published motion pictures other than photoplays 967
Class M: Unpublished motion pictures other than photoplays 241
Total 2,356
Renewals: Classes L and M 603
Copyright Registrations for Motion Pictures, July-December 1977
Class L: Domestic published motion picture photoplays 3,838
Class L: Foreign published motion picture photoplays 20
Class L: Unpublished motion picture photoplays 127
Class M: Domestic published motion pictures other than photoplays 1,367
Class M: Unpublished motion pictures other than photoplays 826
Total 6,178
Renewals: Classes L and M 751
Copyright Registrations for Sound Recordings, January-June 1977
Class N: Domestic published sound recordings 4,720
Class N: Foreign published sound recordings 534
Total 5,254
Copyright Registrations for Sound Recordings, July-December 1977
Class N: Domestic published sound recordings 5,382
Class N: Foreign published sound recordings 484
Total 5,866

The above figures show original and renewal registrations for the categories shown above for the time periods shown, but do not necessarily represent the exact number of entries in these issues of the Catalog.

Catalog pages for this year were scanned by the Copyright Office, by Google, by the Universal Library Project, by Penn's Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text and Image (with volumes loaned from the Free Library of Philadelphia), and by Greg Weeks. If you would like to contribute better copies, email onlinebooks@pobox.upenn.edu. (Please don't send any images by email unless I ask for them.)