---

name: Copyright Search description: Search the US Copyright Office public records to verify copyright registrations for books and text works. read_when:

• Verifying copyright registration for a book
• Looking up copyright information for an author
• Checking if a work is registered with the US Copyright Office
• Finding registration numbers for published works metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"📚","requires":{"bins":["copyright-search"]}}} allowed-tools: Bash(copyright-search:*)

---

Copyright Search

Search the US Copyright Office public records database to verify copyright registrations.

Quick start

copyright-search search "Book Title Author Name"
copyright-search search '"Exact Book Title" Author Name'
copyright-search --json search "query" | jq '.data[]'

Commands

Basic search

copyright-search search "<query>"              # Search for records
copyright-search search "<query>" --per-page 20  # Get more results
copyright-search search "<query>" --page 2       # Pagination
copyright-search --json search "<query>"         # JSON output for parsing

Search tips

• Use quotes within the query for exact title matches: '"FUNNY STORY" Emily Henry'
• Combine title and author for more precise results
• Use --json output with jq to filter and parse results

Interpreting results

Relevant record types

Only consider registrations where the type is one of:

• Text (type_of_work: "text")
• Book (registration class TX or type contains "book")

Ignore other work types like music, sound recordings, motion pictures, etc.

Verifying the correct record

1. Claimant verification: The copyright claimant should be:

   • The author's name, OR
   • A known public entity of the author (e.g., "Emily Henry Books, LLC" for Emily Henry)

2. ISBN matching: If multiple results exist and you are uncertain which is correct, ask the user for the ISBN. The ISBN in the record must match exactly.

3. Date verification: Publication date and registration date should align with known publication information.

When results are ambiguous

If you cannot determine the correct record with confidence:

1. Tell the user there are too many results
2. Return the top 3 most likely matches with their key details:
   • Title
   • Registration number
   • Registration date
   • Claimant name
   • ISBN (if available)

Records requiring manual review

Some older records (especially from the card catalog system) contain scanned images rather than structured data. These records will have:

• system_of_origin: "card_catalog"
• link_to_image_url fields with image links

For these records, inform the user:

"This record contains scanned images and requires manual review. Registration number: [number]"

Example workflow

1. User asks: "Is 'Funny Story' by Emily Henry copyrighted?"

2. Search for the work:

copyright-search --json search '"FUNNY STORY" Emily Henry'

3. Parse and verify:

   • Check type_of_work is "text"
   • Verify claimant matches author
   • Confirm title and dates

4. Report findings:

   • Registration number
   • Registration date
   • Claimant
   • Publication date

JSON output structure

Key fields in the response:

metadata.hit_count               # Total number of results
data[].hit.title_concatenated    # Work title
data[].hit.registration_number   # Copyright registration number
data[].hit.registration_date     # Date registered
data[].hit.type_of_work          # "text", "music", etc.
data[].hit.claimants_list[]      # Copyright claimants
data[].hit.author_statement_list[] # Author information
data[].hit.isbn[]                # ISBN numbers
data[].hit.publication_date      # Publication date
data[].hit.system_of_origin      # "voyager" or "card_catalog"
data[].hit.link_to_image_url[]   # Image URLs (card catalog records)