37 CFR Part 202 - PREREGISTRATION AND REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO COPYRIGHT

The U.S. Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulation governing the group registration option for newspapers. The proposed rule will make a number of changes to reflect current Office practices, promote efficiency of the registration process, and encourage broader participation in the registration system by reducing the burden on applicants. Specifically, the proposed rule revises the definition of “newspaper issues” and clarifies that the group registration option is available to any qualifying “newspaper issue.” The proposed rule will require applicants to file an online application rather than a paper application, and upload a complete digital copy of each issue through the electronic registration system instead of submitting them in physical form. The Library of Congress intends to incorporate digital copies of newspapers received by the Office under this group registration option, and provide public access to them, subject to certain restrictions set forth in the proposed rule. Applicants may continue to submit their issues on microfilm (in addition to submitting digital files) on a voluntary basis if the microfilm is received by December 31, 2019. After that date, the microfilm option will be phased out. The proposed rule will clarify that each newspaper issue in the group must be a new collective work and a work made for hire, that the author and copyright claimant for each issue must be the same person or organization, and will clarify the scope of protection for newspaper issues, compared to individual components appearing within those issues. In addition, the proposed rule will require applicants to submit a full month of issues, and submit their claims within three months after the publication of the earliest issue in the group. The Office invites public comment on these proposed changes.

The U.S. Copyright Office is proposing to create a new group registration option for a limited number of unpublished works. To qualify for this group option, all the works must be created by the same author or the same joint authors, and the author or joint authors must be named as the copyright claimant for each work. The claim to copyright in each work must be the same, and each work must be registered in the same administrative class. In general, applicants will be allowed to include up to five works in each submission. Applicants will be required to submit an online application and upload their works to the electronic registration system, although the Office may waive these requirements in exceptional cases. This new group registration option will replace the current “unpublished collections” option, which the Office has determined is an ineffective mechanism for registration of multiple unpublished works; among other things, it allows applicants to register an essentially unlimited number of works. The proposed rule will allow the Office to more easily examine each work for copyrightable authorship, create a more robust record of the claim, and improve the efficiency of the registration process. The Proposed Rule also makes unrelated technical amendments to the “unit of publication” regulation.

This final rule makes a non-substantive technical change to the U.S. Copyright Office's regulations governing the affixation and position of copyright notice on various types of works.

The United States Copyright Office is proposing to amend the regulations governing the deposit requirements for certain types of literary works and musical compositions. Specifically, the proposed rule will apply to certain types of “literary monographs,” which are defined, in part, as literary works published in one volume or a finite number of separate volumes. The proposed rule also applies to musical compositions that are published in the United States in print formats—that is, compositions published as “copies” rather than solely as phonorecords, as referenced in the Copyright Act. Under the current regulations, two copies of the best edition are generally needed to register these types of works and to comply with the mandatory deposit requirement. Under the proposed rule, copyright owners will be able to satisfy both requirements for literary monographs by submitting one copy of the best edition of the work, although the Office will retain the right to demand a second copy under the mandatory deposit provision should the Library need it. Copyright owners will also be able to satisfy both requirements for certain musical compositions by submitting one copy of the best edition. As part of these changes, the proposed rule also clarifies the deposit requirements for musical compositions published both in print and phonorecord formats. For musical works ( i.e., musical compositions) published in both formats, the Office will require the submission of the print version for purposes of copyright registration. If the musical composition is published only as a phonorecord, the applicant should submit the phonorecord. All of these changes will improve the efficiency of registration and mandatory deposit for both the Office and copyright owners alike, ensuring that the Office has an adequate registration record and continuing to make these works available to the Library of Congress when needed for use in its collections or other disposition. The Office invites public comment on this proposal.

The United States Copyright Office is modernizing its registration practices to increase the efficiency of the registration process for both the Office and copyright owners. To further these efforts, this final rule adopts modifications to the Office's procedures for group registration for contributions to periodicals. Specifically, the Office adopts a new requirement that applicants seeking copyright registrations for groups of contributions to periodicals must submit applications through the Office's electronic registration system; modifies the deposit requirement by requiring applicants to submit their contributions in a digital format and to upload those files through the electronic system; clarifies the eligibility requirements; and alters the administrative classes used for such registrations.

The United States Copyright Office is modernizing its registration practices to increase the efficiency of the registration process for both the Office and copyright owners. To further these efforts, this final rule adopts modifications to the Office's procedures for supplementary registration. Specifically, the Office adopts a new rule that, in most cases, requires applicants to submit an online application in order to correct or amplify the information set forth in a basic registration. In addition, the Office is amending the regulation to codify and update certain practices that are set forth in the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition and to improve the readability of the regulation.

The U.S. Copyright Office is issuing an interim rule that memorializes its special procedure for examining secure tests. The interim rule also includes a new workflow that will increase the efficiency of these examinations. Going forward, applicants must submit an online application, upload a redacted copy of the entire test to the electronic registration system, and complete and submit a brief questionnaire about the test. If the work appears to be eligible for the secure test process, the Office will contact the applicant and schedule an appointment to deliver the test to the Office in person. On the appointed date, the applicant must bring a copy of the application and a complete unredacted copy of the actual test. In addition, the applicant must bring a copy of the redacted version of the test, and a signed declaration confirming that this copy is identical to the redacted copy that was uploaded to the electronic registration system. If the Office confirms that the work qualifies as a secure test, it will examine the test as a whole to determine if it contains sufficient copyrightable authorship. If the Office registers the secure test, the registration will be effective as of the date that the Office received the application, filing fee, and the redacted copy of the entire test in proper form through the electronic registration system. The Office welcomes public comment on the interim rule.

This final rule makes non-substantive technical amendments to the U.S. Copyright Office's regulations governing the submission of designated agent and service provider information to the Office pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”).

The U.S. Copyright Office is amending its regulations governing registration, recordation, licensing, and other services that the Office provides. The amendments will improve the quality of the Office's regulations by updating cross-references to the Copyright Act and the Office's regulations, replacing outdated terminology, reflecting structural changes to the Office and its senior management, eliminating expired or obsolete provisions, and correcting nonsubstantive errors.

The U.S. Copyright Office is proposing to amend its regulations governing registration, recordation, licensing, and other services that the Office provides. The amendments will improve the quality of the Office's regulations by updating cross-references to the Copyright Act and the Office's regulations, replacing outdated terminology, reflecting structural changes to the Office and its senior management, eliminating expired or obsolete provisions, and correcting nonsubstantive errors. While these amendments are intended to be technical in nature, out of an abundance of caution, the Office is publishing the proposed regulations for public comment.

The U.S. Copyright Office is altering the deadline for submitting requests to reconsider refusals to register a copyright claim. Previously, a reconsideration request had to be received by the Office, via mail, no later than three months after the Office issued its decision to refuse registration. This rule has led to confusion, as it can be difficult to predict when a request will physically be received by the Office, particularly given security-screening-related delays in the processing of mail. Accordingly, to provide greater certainty to applicants, the amended rule provides that reconsideration requests only need to be postmarked or dispatched no later than three months after a refusal is issued.

The United States Copyright Office is extending the deadline for the submission of written comments in response to its May 17, 2016 Notice of Inquiry regarding the mandatory deposit of online-only electronic books and sound recordings.

In 2010, the U.S. Copyright Office, acting pursuant to section 407 of title 17 and following a public rulemaking process, adopted an interim rule governing mandatory deposit of electronic works that are not available in a physical format. The interim rule refers to such works as “electronic works published in the United States and available only online” (or “online-only works”). The interim rule created a limited exception to the Register's longstanding regulatory exemption that online-only works are not subject to mandatory deposit requirements. It also established best edition criteria and regulations as to electronic serials requested pursuant to section 407. The Library has adopted policies for the use of such materials, including limiting public access to deposited works to dedicated terminals located at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. These policies were anticipated and discussed during the rulemaking process, but are not memorialized in the regulations. The Library of Congress is now interested in extending the interim rule to apply to online-only books and sound recordings. Because over six years have passed since the interim rule was adopted, and because the interim rule was intended to inform a more permanent solution and rule, the Copyright Office is initiating a notice of inquiry to further guide its work in this area. The Copyright Office seeks feedback from affected communities regarding the experience with mandatory deposit of electronic serials, generally, as well as comments pertaining to the potential application of mandatory deposit to online-only books and sound recordings, specifically. Based on this feedback, the Office will solicit further written comments and/or invite stakeholder meetings before moving to a rulemaking process.

The U.S. Copyright Office (or “Office”) is amending its regulations to revise the mailing addresses for filing claims and sending other correspondence and documents to the Office. The revised addresses direct such document deliveries to the appropriate location in the Office in a more timely and efficient manner.

The U.S. Copyright Office is amending its regulations on an interim basis in order to establish a new registration option called the “single application.” This application is being introduced in order to provide an additional option for individual authors/claimants registering a single (one) work that is not a work made for hire via the Copyright Office's electronic registration system (“eCO”). Such applications are the most administratively simple for the Copyright Office to process and may make copyright registration more attractive to individual authors of single works. This application option will be available on June 28, 2013, and the Copyright Office is inviting public comments during the first 60 days of its implementation. The single application option will cost the same—$35—as a standard electronic application.

The Copyright Office is adopting interim regulations that allow groups of related serial issues to be filed through the Office's electronic registration system. This interim rule will also allow applicants for groups of related serials, in certain circumstances, to mail physical deposit copies of the serial issues upon submitting an electronic application and payment, when electronic deposit copies do not exist. Regardless of the registration option chosen, applicants must still send two complimentary subscription copies of the serial promptly to the Library of Congress as a condition of eligibility unless directed otherwise by the Office. While filing electronically is not mandatory, the Copyright Office strongly urges applicants to use the electronic filing option since it is more efficient for both the user and the agency.

The Copyright Office is extending the reply comment period on the proposed rule to amend its regulations governing the definition of a “claimant” for purposes of copyright registration by eliminating the footnote to the definition of a “claimant” in § 202.3(a)(3)(ii).

The Copyright Office is amending its regulations governing the deposit requirements for applications for automated databases that consist predominantly of photographs. The amendments require that, in addition to providing material related to claimed compilation authorship, the deposits for such databases include the image of each photograph in which copyright is claimed.

The Copyright Office proposes to amend its regulations governing the definition of a “claimant” for purposes of copyright registration by eliminating the footnote to the definition of a “claimant” in § 202.3(a)(3)(ii). The footnote currently extends the definition of a claimant to include individuals or entities that have obtained the contractual right to claim legal title to copyright in an application for copyright registration. This amendment would clarify that the copyright claimant must be either the author of the work, or a person or organization that has obtained ownership of all of the exclusive rights initially belonging to the author. The Copyright Office believes that the footnote creates considerable legal uncertainty while offering no clear benefits to the registration system. Removing it will foster the use of other available registration options that create a more meaningful public record.