Good news for visual artists incoming!
The U.S. Copyright Office has recently introduced a new copyright registration option called Group Registration for Two-Dimensional Artwork (GR2D). This option allows artists to register up to 20 published 2D works at one time with a single application and fee. Importantly, each individual artwork within the group will be treated as a separate work of authorship. This means that if someone steals your entire set, you aren’t stuck with just one legal claim; you can enforce your rights for each individual artwork as if you had registered them separately.
For artists who frequently publish 2D visual works, this option will simplify the process of filing and reduce the administrative costs to protect their work.
What works are eligible?
- Works must be two-dimensional works, whether created by hand or through digital tools.
- Each artwork must be submitted as a separate file within the application.
- All works must be published and published within the same calendar year.
- The author and claimant of all the works must be the same.
Here are some common examples of acceptable artworks:
- Paintings
- Illustrations
- Graphic designs
- Sketches
- Fabric designs
- Collages
- Character artwork
What works aren’t eligible?
- Photographs
- Sculptures and other 3D artwork
- Composite works that include other artwork, like catalogs, artbooks, style guides, etc.
- Unpublished works
Why should you register at all?
Remember that while your work is technically protected by copyright the moment you create it, the work must be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office to enforce your copyright, and your ability to actually get paid in a lawsuit depends entirely on your timing. To unlock Statutory Damages—which can range from $750 up to $150,000 per work—you generally must register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office before the infringement begins.
However, the law provides a vital “grace period”: if you register within three months of your work’s first publication, you retain the right to these massive payouts and the recovery of your attorney’s fees, even if someone stole the work the day after you posted it. If you wait until after an infringement happens (and you’re outside that three-month window) to file your paperwork, you are usually limited to “actual damages.” These are notoriously difficult to prove and often don’t even cover the cost of your lawyer.
What are the cost savings?
This filing option is a game-changer for visual artists. Currently, a GR2D application costs $85, whereas registering 20 works individually could cost up to $1,300 in filing fees. At a time when protecting proprietary work from unauthorized AI scraping and social media “sharing” is more important than ever, GR2D has opened up a more accessible pathway for visual artists to secure copyright protection for their work.
However, the $85 price tag may not last long. On March 20, 2026, the Copyright Office proposed a new fee schedule to account for rising operational costs. Under this proposal, the fee for group registrations like GR2D is expected to jump from $85 to $130. With the public comment period ending on May 4, 2026, these price increases could take effect shortly after. If you have a backlog of unregistered 2D visual artworks, now is the time to file before the filing fees go up!
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