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LIMITATIONS ON SEARCHES
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In determining whether or not to have a search made, you should keep the following points in mind: 

NO SPECIAL LISTS.  The Copyright Office does not maintain any listings of works by subject or any lists of works that are in the public domain.

CONTRIBUTIONS NOT LISTED SEPARATELY IN COPYRIGHT OFFICE RECORDS.  Individual works such as stories, poems, articles, or musical compositions that were published as contributions to a copyrighted periodical or collection are usually not listed separately by title in our records.

NO COMPARISONS.  The Copyright Office does not search or compare copies of works to determine questions of possible infringement or to determine how much two or more versions of a work have in common.

TITLES AND NAMES NOT COPYRIGHTABLE.  Copyright does not protect names and titles, and our records list many different works identified by the same or similar titles.  Some brand names, trade names, slogans, and phrases may be entitled to protection under the general rules of law relating to unfair competition.  They may also be entitled to registration under the provisions of the trademark laws.  Questions about the trademark laws should be addressed to the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Washington, D.C. 20231.  Possible protection of names and titles under common law principles of unfair competition is a question of state law.

NO LEGAL ADVICE.  The Copyright Office cannot express any opinion as to the legal significance or effect of the facts included in a search report.

SOME WORDS OF CAUTION

Searches Not Always Conclusive

Searches of the Copyright Office catalogs and records are useful in helping to determine the copyright status of a work, but they cannot be regarded as conclusive in all cases.  The complete absence of any information about a work in the Office records does not mean that the work is unprotected.  The following are examples of cases in which information about a particular work may be incomplete or lacking entirely in the Copyright Office: 

+ Before 1978, unpublished works were entitled to protection under
  common law without the need of registration.

+ Works published with notice prior to 1978 may be registered at any
  time within the first 28-year term.

+ Works copyrighted between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977, are
  affected by the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992, which automatically
  extends the copyright term and makes renewal registrations optional.

+ For works under copyright protection on or after January 1, 1978,
  registration may be made at any time during the term of protection. 
  Although registration is not required as a condition of copyright
  protection, there are certain definite advantages to registration.  For
  further information, request Circular 1, “Copyright Basics.”