The third way the Library of Congress may be involved in your book is through the U.S. Copyright Office, which is located within the Library of Congress. In the previous two posts about the Library of Congress we discussed the LCCN and the CIP data.
Copyright Registration
Registering your book with the copyright office has nothing to do with the LCCN, the CIP data, or with cataloging your book. Therefore, getting an LCCN or CIP data for your book from the Library of Congress does not amount to copyright registration with the U.S. Copyright Office. If you so choose, Wheatmark can secure copyright registration for your book, or you can apply for one yourself directly.
Keep in mind that registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office does not establishyour copyright for your book; rather, it confirms it. Your work is already under copyright protection whether you register it or not. Once you have finished writing your original work, nobody else has the “right to copy” it, therefore you already enjoy copyright protection in the U.S. Wheatmark will print “Copyright © 2007 Jane Doe” on the copyright page of your book in your name whether you want it registered officially or not.
