Is "copywrite pending" public information? Is there a way
that I can confirm/verify that a piece of written material has been
applied for copywrites and is indeed pending? The written material is
a 2-3 page Supplemental Addendum to a Real Estate Appraisal URAR form
report and would have applied for by Linda Coneen of Cape Cod &
Islands Appraisal Group,95 Rayber Road, Orleans, MA 02653.

marylou47-ga,

In the United States, there really is no such thing as "copyright pending".

This is because copyright protection exists automatically from the
moment a written work is first created.

Unlike a patent or trademark, which must be applied for and approved
(and thus, can be considered 'pending' during the approval process),
copyright protection is automatic and instantaneous.

You can see more about this at the US Copyright Office:


http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#wccc
Copyright Office Basics 

...Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in
fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately
becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the
author or those deriving their rights through the author can
rightfully claim copyright.




As you can see, copyright protection comes into existence as soon as a
written work is created in "fixed form".



However, it is possible to formally register a work with the Copyright
Office, and such registration confers additional legal protections. 
From the same site:


=====

Copyright Registration

In general, copyright registration is a legal formality intended to
make a public record of the basic facts of a particular copyright.
However, registration is not a condition of copyright protection. Even
though registration is not a requirement for protection, the copyright
law provides several inducements or advantages to encourage copyright
owners to make registration. Among these advantages are the following:

-Registration establishes a public record of the copyright claim. 

-Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is
necessary for works of U.S. origin.

-If made before or within 5 years of publication, registration will
establish prima facie evidence in court of the validity of the
copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate.

-If registration is made within 3 months after publication of the work
or prior to an infringement of the work, statutory damages and
attorney's fees will be available to the copyright owner in court
actions. Otherwise, only an award of actual damages and profits is
available to the copyright owner.

-Registration allows the owner of the copyright to record the
registration with the U. S. Customs Service for protection against the
importation of infringing copies.

=====


Bottom line:  The written document you inquired about is already
protected by copyright, and was from the moment it was created.


The Copyright Office also allows searching for registered documents,
and a search of their site did not turn up the specific document you
inquired about.

It is possible that the document has been submitted for registration
(and that may be why it was mistakenly labeled as 'copyright
pending'), but it is not yet in the database.

There were no documents registered under the name Linda Coneen.

However, there are a number of registrations by "Cape Cod & Islands
Multiple Listing Service, Inc", which likely seems the same
organization you asked about.  The registered listings are:



TX-2-862-860: MLS computer user manual. 

TX-5-655-450: Cape Cod & Islands MLS, Inc., profile data field sheets
: pub. updates from Jan. 20, 1999-April 21, 1999.

TX-5-926-637: Cape Cod & Islands MLS database.

TX-5-960-056: Cape Cod & Islands Multiple Listing Service Database
published updates from January 1, 2004, to March 31, 2004.

TX-6-013-869: Cape Cod & Islands Multiple Listing Service database,
published updates from April 1, 2004, to June 30, 2004

TX-6-062-472: Cape Cod & Islands Multiple Listing Service database :
published updates from July 1, 2004 to September 30, 2004.

TX-6-148-475: Group registration for automated database titled Cape
Cod & Islands Multiple Listing Service database : pub. updates from
Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2004.

TX-6-179-679: Group registration for automated database titled Cape
Cod & Islands Multiple Listing Service database : published updates
01/01/2005-03/31/2005.

TX-6-212-888: Group registration for automated database titled Cape
Cod & Islands Multiple Listing Service database; published updates
from 04/01/2005-06/30/2005.

TX-6-304-319: Group registration for automated database titled Cape
Cod & Islands Multiple Listing Service database : published updates
from 07/01/05 to 09/30/05.

TX-6-310-611: Group registration for automated database titled Cape
Cod & Islands Multiple Listing Service database, published updates
from 10/01/05 to 12/31/05.



Again, there's no mention (yet) of a "Supplemental Addendum to a Real
Estate Appraisal URAR form", but as I already explained, the absence
of a listing does not mean the document is not copyrighted.


At any time, you can search the Copyright database for registered items here:



http://www.copyright.gov/records/cohm.html
Search for copyright information



Select the "Combined Search" option, and enter [ Cape Cod & islands ]
in the text box (or any other name of interest), to see all registered
items for that particular person or group.


I trust this information fully answers your question.

However, please don't rate this answer until you have everything you
need.  If there's anything more I can do for you, just post a Request
for Clarification, and I'm happy to assist you further.

pafalafa-ga


search strategy -- Used bookmarked links to the Copyright Office.

I looked into this five or six years ago when I made a book for my
children of my "Letters From The Army".  All was pretty much as
Answerer says.  Good answer!

I made the book because one of my kids is getting the original
letters, and the others will have the same material if not the
originals.

I found at that time there was actually no penalty for failing to
register the copyright, which requires a copy of the document being
sent to the government, unless they wrote to me requesting a copy. If
I then failed to do so, the regulations at the time said the copyright
would automatically cease for failure to comply.

I produced the book with LyX, a free type setter program included with
Mandrake Linux. It produced a totally professional book with
professional book type fonts; table of contents; and index.  I printed
it at home. When I took it to a copy place to have it copied on
acid-proof paper, they requested proof I had right to copy it. My
driver's license name was the same as the copyright holder, so they
cheerfully copied it.

I visited my son in Ohio, and he wanted an extra copy. The copy place
there was not satisfied with my i.d., but made me sign an affidavit
that I was authorized by the copyright holder to make a copy. I
believe the first copy place was technically correct, but did not mind
the over-kill in Ohio as long as they made my copies.

I gave all five kids the book in an envelope, due to the high cost of
binding.  The paper will still be good long after the envelope has
crumbled to dust.

Sorry, when I said no penalty for failing to register, I did not mean
to exclude the loss of certain infringment protection rights if not
registered. I meant direct penalty for failure to register. Answer is
correct.