Overview of the Registration Process

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C O M P E N D I U M : Chapter 200
Overview of the Registration Process
Contents
201 	What This Chapter Covers ................................................................................................................................................. 4
202 	Purposes and Advantages of Registration .................................................................................................................. 5
202.1 	Types of Registrations ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
202.2 	Registration Distinguished from Preregistration .................................................................................................... 7
202.3 	Registration Distinguished from Recordation .......................................................................................................... 7
203 	Timing of Registration ......................................................................................................................................................... 7
204 	Required Elements for Registration .............................................................................................................................. 7
204.1 	Completed Application ........................................................................................................................................................ 8
204.1(A) 	Online Application ................................................................................................................................................................. 8
204.1(B) 	Paper Applications ................................................................................................................................................................ 9
204.1(B)(1) 	By Mail ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
204.1(B)(2) 	By Courier .............................................................................................................................................................................. 10
204.1(B)(3) 	By Hand Delivery ................................................................................................................................................................ 11
204.2 	Filing Fee ................................................................................................................................................................................ 11
204.3 	Deposit Copy(ies) ............................................................................................................................................................... 12
204.3(A) 	Deposit Copy(ies) Submitted in Electronic Format ............................................................................................. 12
204.3(B) 	Deposit Copy(ies) Submitted in Physical Format ................................................................................................. 13
205 	Privacy ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
206 	General Overview of the Examination Process ...................................................................................................... 15
207 	Special Handling .................................................................................................................................................................. 15
208 	Withdrawing an Application .......................................................................................................................................... 16
209 	The Certificate of Registration and the Effective Date of Registration ........................................................ 16
210 	Registration Refused After Examination .................................................................................................................. 17
211 	General Policies Regarding Inaccuracies and Misrepresentations ............................................................... 18
211.1 	Material Misrepresentations ......................................................................................................................................... 18
211.2 	Immaterial Inaccuracies in the Application ............................................................................................................ 18
211.3 	Minor Substantive Errors Found Post-Registration ............................................................................................ 18
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211.4 	Major Substantive Errors Found Post-Registration ............................................................................................ 18
212 	The Registration Process at a Glance ......................................................................................................................... 18
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C O M P E N D I U M : Chapter 200
Overview of the Registration Process
201 	What This Chapter Covers
This Chapter provides a general overview of the copyright registration system and the
practices and procedures for submitting an application to register a work created or
first published on or after January 1, 1978. For a chart that illustrates the entire
registration process at a glance, see Section 213.212.
For a detailed discussion of the U.S. Copyright Office’s registration practices, see the
following chapters:
• 	For the practices and procedures for examining copyright claims, see Chapter 600.
• 	For the practices and procedures for registering certain groups of works, see
Chapter 1100.
• 	For a general discussion of filing fees and applications, including the Single
Application, which may be used to register a single work by a single author, see
Chapter 1400.
• 	For the practices and procedures for correcting or amplifying the information in an
existing copyright registration and for asserting an adverse claim to copyright, see
Chapter 1800.
• 	For the practices and procedures for the renewal of copyright claims, see Chapter
2100.
For a detailed discussion of the Office’s practices and procedures for specific types of
works, see the following chapters:
• 	For literary works, see Chapter 700.
• 	For works of the performing arts, see Chapter 800.
• 	For visual art works, see Chapter 900.
• 	For websites and website content, see Chapter 1000.
• 	For mask works, see Chapter 1200.
• 	For vessel designs, see Chapter 1300.
• 	For foreign works, see Chapter 2000.
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202 	Purposes and Advantages of Registration
Under the current copyright law, a work of authorship is protected by copyright from
the moment it is created, provided that the work is original and has been fixed in a
tangible medium of expression. See 17 U.S.C. §§ 102(a), 408(a). Although registration is
not required for a work to be protected by copyright, it does provide several important
benefits:
• 	A registration creates a public record that includes key facts relating to the
authorship and ownership of the claimed work, as well as information about the
work, such as title, year of creation, date of publication (if any), and the type of
authorship that the work contains (e.g., photographs, text, sound recordings).
• 	Registration (or a refusal to register) is a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit for
copyright infringement involving a U.S. work. See 17 U.S.C. § 411(a); see also
Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., 132 S. Ct. 1962, 1977 (2014) (“Although
registration is ‘permissive,’ both the certificate and the original work must be on
file with the Copyright Office before a copyright owner can sue for
infringement.”); Alaska Stock, LLC. v. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co.,
747 F.3d 673, 678 (9th Cir. 2014) (“Though an owner has property rights
without registration, he needs to register the copyright to sue for
infringement.”).
• 	To claim statutory damages or attorney’s fees in a copyright infringement lawsuit,
a work must be registered before the infringement began or within three months
after the first publication of the work. See 17 U.S.C. §§ 412(c), 504, 505.
• 	A registration constitutes prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright
and the facts stated in the certificate of registration, but only if the work is
registered before or within five years after the work is first published.
• 	A registration provides information to prospective licensees, such as the name
and address for obtaining permission to use the work.
• 	A document that has been recorded with the U.S. Copyright Office may provide
constructive notice of the facts stated therein, but only if the document
specifically identifies a work of authorship and only if that work has been
registered. See 17 U.S.C. § 205(c)(1)-(2).
• 	The deposit copy(ies) submitted with an application for registration of a
published work may satisfy the mandatory deposit requirement, provided that
the applicant submitted the best edition of the work. See 17 U.S.C. §§ 407, 408(b).
• 	A registration is necessary to secure the full benefits of a preregistration that
has been issued by the U.S. Copyright Office. See 17 U.S.C. § 408(f)(3).
• 	The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service may seize foreign pirated
copies of a copyright owner’s work, provided that the work has been registered
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with the U.S. Copyright Office and the certificate of registration has been
recorded with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service.
• 	“To be entitled to receive royalties under [the section 115] compulsory license,
the copyright owner must be identified in the registration or other public
records of the Copyright Office.” See 17 U.S.C. § 115(c)(1).
• 	A registration is required to claim royalties under the compulsory license for
making and distributing phonorecords. See 17 U.S.C. § 115(c)(1).
202.1 	Types of Registrations
The U.S. Copyright Office registers claims to copyright in works of authorship. As a
general rule, the Office will issue one registration for each work that is submitted for
registration. Generally, theThe Office will not issue separate registrations for the
constituent elements or individual components of a work of authorship. And as
discussed Chapter 500, Section 503.1(A), the Office generallyLikewise, the Office will not
issue separate registrations to each author who contributed copyrightable expression to
the work.
The U.S. Copyright Office currently offers the following types of registrations:
• 	Basic registrations. An application for a basic registration is used to register a
copyright claim in a work created or first published on or after January 1, 1978, and
covers the full term of the copyright. This type of registration may be obtained with
a Standard Application or a Single Application (provided certain eligibility
requirements have been met). For a discussion of the Standard Application and
Single Application, see Chapter 1400, Sections 1402.4 and 1402.5.
• 	Group registrations. An application for a group registration is used to register a
claim to copyright in a group of related works that qualify for a single registration.
See 17 U.S.C. § 408(c)(1), (2).17 U.S.C. § 408(c)(2). For a detailed discussion of group
registration, see Chapter 1100.
• 	Supplementary registration. An application for a supplementary registration may be
used to correct or amplify the information in a basic or renewal registration. 17
U.S.C. § 408(d). For a detailed discussion of supplementary registration, see Chapter
1800, Section 1802.
• 	GATT registration. An application for a GATT registration is used to register a
copyright claim in a work in which U.S. copyright was restored by the 1994 Uruguay
Round Agreements Act (URAA). See Uruguay Round Agreements Act, 103 P.L. 465,
108 Stat. 4809 (1994) (codified as amended at 17 U.S.C. § 104A). For a discussion of
GATT registration, see Chapter 2000, Section 2007.
• 	Renewal registration. An application for a renewal registration is used to cover the
renewal term for works copyrighted before January 1, 1978. See 17 U.S.C. § 304. For
a detailed discussion of renewal registration, see Chapter 2100.
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202.2 	Registration Distinguished from Preregistration
Preregistration is a special service that is intended for specific types of works that are
likely to be infringed before they are completed or before they are released for
commercial distribution, such as feature films. A preregistration is not the same as
registration and the vast majority of applicants would not benefit from this service.
Applicants should reflect carefully on whether preregistration is necessary in a specific
case. For more information on preregistration, see Chapter 1600.
202.3 	Registration Distinguished from Recordation
Registration and recordation are two separate procedures: claims to copyright are
registered, while documents related to copyright claims, such as agreements to transfer
or grant a mortgage in copyrights, are recorded. As discussed in Section 204, an
applicant must submit an application, deposit copy(ies), and a filing fee to register a
claim to copyright, and together these items are the primary source of information for
the claim. As a general rule, the applicant does not need to submit additional documents
substantiating the information provided in these materials.
Registering a claim to copyright is not a substitute for recording a document with the
U.S. Copyright Office, and recording a document is not a substitute for registering a
claim to copyright. See 17 U.S.C. § 205. For a detailed discussion of the practices and
procedures for recording a document with the Office, see Chapter 2300.
203 	Timing of Registration
Registration may be made at any time before the copyright has entered the public
domain. See 17 U.S.C. §§ 302-305 and 408(a). Generally speaking, a copyrighted work
enters the public domain in the United States when “its full copyright term has expired.”
Golan v. Holder, 565 U.132 S. 302, 307Ct. 873, 878 (2012).
Although registration may be made at any time before a copyright expires or any time
before bringing an infringement action in federal court, the U.S. Copyright Office
strongly encourages copyright owners to submit their works for registration in a timely
manner. As discussed in Section 202, a registration is a prerequisite for seeking
statutory damages and attorney’s fees in an infringement action. To pursue these
remedies, an unpublished work must be registered before the infringement occurs,
while a published work must be registered within three months after publication or
before the infringement occurs. See 17 U.S.C. § 412. Moreover, if the work is registered
before or within five years after the work is first published, the registration constitutes
prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright and the facts stated in the certificate
of registration.
204 	Required Elements for Registration
To register a claim to copyright, an applicant must submit the following items to the U.S.
Copyright Office:
• 	Completed application;
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• 	Full filing fee; and
• 	The requisite deposit copy(ies) of the work.
A general discussion of each of these elements is set forth in Sections 204.1 through
204.3 below. For detailed information on the practices and procedures for completing
the application, see Chapter 600. For detailed information on the requirements for the
filing fee, see Chapter 1400, Section 1403. For detailed information on the requirements
for deposit copy(ies), see Chapter 1500.
204.1 	Completed Application
An applicant must use the official applications provided by the U.S. Copyright Office.
Most claims may be submitted online by using the Office’s electronic registration
system. Applicants must submit paper applications for some specific types of claims, and
in somemost cases, applicants are required to use the online application to seek a
registration.
Applicants generally may submit a paper application as an alternative to using the
electronic registration system, although applicants are required to use a paper
application for certain types of claims.
Each type of application is discussed in Sections 204.1(A) and 204.1(B) below.
204.1(A) 	Online Application
The U.S. Copyright Office’s electronic registration system may be accessed from the
Office’s website.
The Office strongly encourages applicants to use the online application whenever
possible. The benefits to filing an online application include:
• 	Lower filing fees for online applications: The filing fee for an online application is
lower than the filing fee for a paper application. For a list of the current filing fees,
see the Office’s fee schedule.
• 	Faster processing: The Office typically processes electronic claims three to six
months sooner than non-electronic claims. Current processing times are listed on
the Office’s website.
• 	Multiple options for paying the filing fee: An applicant may pay the filing fee for an
online application by credit card, debit card, electronic check, or with a U.S.
Copyright Office deposit account, while in most cases an applicant may pay the filing
fee for a paper application only by check, money order, or deposit account.
• 	Easier submission of the deposit copy(ies): For certain types of works, the applicant
may upload deposit copy(ies) directly to the online system as an electronic file,
instead of having to submit physical deposit copies through the mail. The Office lists
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the acceptable file types on its website. If the work is published in hard copy form,
the applicant may be required to mail a physical copythe best edition to the Office,
but filing the application electronically will expedite processing.
• 	The ability to track the status of the application: After submission, the online system
allows the applicant to log in and see whether the online application is still pending
or whether it has been registered and closed.
For detailed information on completing an online application, see Chapter 600. For
information on completing an online application for a group of serials, a group of
contributions to periodicals,serials, a group of published photographs, or a group of
updates or revisions to a database predominantly consisting of photographs, see
Chapter 1100, Sections 1109, 1115, 1116, and 1117. For information on completing an
online application for a supplementary registration, see Chapter 1800, Section
1802.8(A).Chapter 1100, Sections 1109, 1116, and 1117.
Once the online application has been submitted, the Office automatically issues an email
confirming that the application has been received. If there are any issues regarding the
claim, a registration specialist will communicate with the applicant via telephone, email,
or mail to address those issues. For more information on communications between the
Office and the applicant, see Chapter 600, Section 605.
204.1(B) 	Paper Applications
At this time, applicants must use a paper application to apply for some types of
registrations, namely:
• 	A group registrationGroup registration for daily newspapers, daily newsletters,
contributions to periodicals, or databases that do not consist predominantly of
photographs.
• 	Renewal registrations.
• 	GATT registrations.
• 	A supplementary registration that corrects or amplifies the information in a renewal
registration, a GATT registration, or a registration for a database that does not
consist predominantly of photographs.
• 	Mask work and vessel design registrations.Supplementary registrations.
• 	Renewal registrations.
• 	GATT registrations.
• 	Mask work and vessel design registrations.
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In such cases, the applicant must submit a paper application on the appropriate form by
mail, courier, or hand delivery. For detailed information on these types of paper
applications, see Chapter 1400, Sections 1402.4(B) and), 1402.6(B) through 1402.9.
In all other cases, the Office strongly discourages applicants from using paper
applications for the reasons discussed in Section 204.1(A).
Applicants may download paper applications from the Office’s website, or by requesting
the forms from the Public Information Office via email, fax, telephone, or in person. Once
completed, the applicant may submit the paper application, along with the required
deposit copy(ies) and filing fee, to the Office by mail, courier, or hand delivery.
For general information on how to complete a paper application, see the instructions
provided with each form. For specific information on how to complete each space of a
paper application, see Chapter 600. For information on how to submit a paper
application by mail, courier, or hand delivery, see Sections 204.1(B)(1) through
204.1(B)(3) below.
204.1(B)(1) 	By Mail
The address for submitting a paper application, filing fee, and deposit copy(ies) to the
U.S. Copyright Office is set forth in space 9 of the paper application in the space marked
“Mail To,” which may be found at the bottom of every paper application.
Be advised that all packages that are submitted to the Office by mail will be screened for
the presence of anthrax and other deadly contaminants. This screening will delay
examination of the registration materials (i.e., the application, filing fee, and deposit
copy(ies)) and, in some cases, it could possibly damage the deposit copy(ies), which may
cause additional delays. For more information on the screening procedure, see Chapter
1500, Section 1508.6.Delivery of Mail to the Copyright Office
(www.copyright.gov/mail.html).
204.1(B)(2) 	By Courier
To submit a paper application, filing fee, and deposit copy(ies) by courier, an applicant
must include all of the required elements in a single package and deliver it to the
Congressional Courier Acceptance Site (“CCAS”), which is located at 2nd and D Streets
NE, Washington, DC. This location is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to
4:305:00 p.m. Eastern Time, except for federal holidays.
Items delivered to this location typically are sent to the U.S. Copyright Office the next
working day. Registration materials submitted through a courier service do not receive
a dated receipt from the Office but instead will receive one dated by CCAS. The Office
considers the CCAS date of receipt as the date of receipt in the Office.
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204.1(B)(3) 	By Hand Delivery
To submit a paper application, filing fee, and deposit copy(ies) in person, an applicant
must deliver all of the required elements to the U.S. Copyright Office’s Public
Information Office. This Office is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 8:30
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, except federal holidays, and is located at the following
address:
Public Information Office (PIO)
Library of Congress, United States Copyright Office
James Madison Memorial Building, Room LM-401
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington DC 20559
An applicant who delivers registration materials to the Public Information Office will
receive a date-stamped receipt that lists the title of no more than one of the works listed
in the application.
NOTE: Visitors to the U.S. Copyright Office must pass through security before entering
the building. Sealed packages or packages that are more than twenty-four inches wide
by fifteen inches high are not permitted.
204.2 	Filing Fee
The current filing fees for online and paper applications are set forth in the U.S.
Copyright Office’s fee schedule, which is posted on the Office’s website. All filing fees are
subject to change. For information concerning the types of payments that the Office will
accept, see Chapter 1400, Section 1403.4.
If the applicant fails to submit the correctAn application submitted with an insufficient
filing fee, a member of the Office’s staff will notify the applicant in writing. If the
applicant submits the correct filing fee within the specified time frame, the effective date
of registration will be changed to reflect the date that the funds were received.delayed
until the Office receives full payment, which affects the effective date of registration. If
the Office does not receive the correct filing fee within the specified time frame, it will
close the file. If the applicant wishes to resubmit the claim, the applicant must file a new
application, new deposit copy(ies), and the correct filing fee. The effective date of
registration for a new claimregistration will be based on the date that the new
submission is received by the Office.
refused. For a discussion of the effective date of registration, see Section 209 below. For;
for a discussion of the Office’s practices and procedures for closing a file for failure to
respond to a written communicationregarding insufficient filing fees, see Chapter 600,
Sections 605Chapter 1400, Section 1403.7 and 625.3(B)..
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204.3 	Deposit Copy(ies)
The term “deposit” is frequently misunderstood. It refers to the copy or copies of a work
that are submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office. It does not refer to the filing fee that must
be paid in order to register a work with the Office.
As a general rule, the applicant must submit a complete copy or copies of the work to
register a claim to copyright. In certain cases, the U.S. Copyright Office may accept
identifying material in lieu of a complete copy, or the Office may grant special relief from
the deposit requirements.. (For a definition and discussion of identifying material and
special relief, see Chapter 1500Chapter 1500, SectionsSection 1506 and 1508.8.) As
discussed above, the deposit copy(ies) for a published work also may satisfy the
mandatory deposit requirement for certain works that are published in the United
States.
If the applicant fails to submit a complete copy of the work, fails to submit sufficient
identifying material, and/or fails to obtain special relief from the deposit requirements,
the registration specialist will communicate with the applicant. If the Office does not
receive the correct deposit within the specified time frame, the specialist will close the
file. If the applicant wishes to resubmit the claim, the applicant must file a new
application, new deposit copy(ies), and the correct filing fee. The effective date of
registration for a new claim will be based on the date that the new submission is
received by the Office.
In specific instances, the deposit copy(ies) may be submitted in digital or physical
format. The deposit copy(ies) must conform to certain requirements depending on the
type of work, the deposit requirements, and whether the work is published or
unpublished. As a general rule, the deposit copy(ies) should be clear and should contain
all the authorship that the applicant intends to register. An application submitted with
an incomplete or unclear deposit copy(ies) will be delayed until the Office receives a
complete and/or clear copy. Delays due to incomplete and/or unclear deposit copy(ies)
may affect the effective date of registration, which is discussed in Section 209 below.
Once the Office receives the registration materials, a registration specialist will examine
the deposit copy(ies) to determine if the work is eligible for registration. The Office will
not return the deposit copy(ies) or the identifying material to the applicant.
General information on the procedure for submitting the deposit copy(ies) in digital or
physical format is set forth in Sections 204.3(A) and 204.3(B) below. For detailed
information on the deposit requirements for registration and the mandatory deposit
requirements, see Chapter 1500.
204.3(A) 	Deposit Copy(ies) Submitted in Electronic Format
The applicant may submit deposit copy(ies) electronically through the online
registration system if the work meets any of the following requirements:
• 	The work is unpublished;
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• 	The work has been published only in a digital format; or
• 	The work has been published and identifying material is the appropriate deposit for
that type of work. (For a detailed discussion of identifying material, see Chapter
1500, Section 1506.)
An applicant must submit the deposit copy(ies) in an acceptable file format. Failure to
submit the deposit copy(ies) in an acceptable file format may delay the examination of
the claim, and the applicant may be required to submit an acceptable file type that the
U.S. Copyright Office can access. The Office will not establish an effective date of
registration until the Office receives a file type that can be opened and examined by a
registration specialist. The currently acceptable file formats are listed on the Office’s
website.
If an applicant submits an online application and the work does not meet the
requirements listed above, the applicant must submit deposit copy(ies) in a physical
format. Likewise, applicants who submit a paper application must submit the deposit
copy(ies) in a physical format by mail, courier, or hand delivery (not electronically). For
a discussion of the procedure for submitting the deposit copy(ies) in physical format,
see Section 204.3(B) below.
204.3(B) 	Deposit Copy(ies) Submitted in Physical Format
Physical deposit copies should be submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office by mail, courier,
or hand delivery if (i) the work does not meet the requirements listed in Section
204.3(A), (ii) the applicant is submitting a paper application rather than an online
application, or (iii) if the applicant prefers to submit the deposit copy(ies) in a physical
format rather than a digital format.
When completing an online application, the applicant will be given an opportunity to
print a deposit copy shipping slip that corresponds to the online application. The
applicant must print the shipping slip, attach it to each deposit copy, and send all of
these items in a single package to the address specified on the shipping slip. (For further
information concerning this procedure, see Chapter 600, Section 625.2(D) and Chapter
1500, Sections 1508.2 through 1508.5.) In such cases, the effective date of registration is
based on the date the Office receives the deposit copy(ies) along with the corresponding
shipping slip. If an applicant does not include the shipping slip with each mailed physical
deposit the Office will not be able to connect the deposit to an application.
When submitting a paper application, an applicant should send the completed
application, proper filing fee, and complete and clear deposit copy(ies) in a single
package to the address specified in space 9 marked “Mail To,” which may be found at the
bottom of every paper application.
205 	Privacy
The applicant should not provide any private or confidential information in the
application that is not required for registration. All of the information that the applicant
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provides in the application is a permanent part of the public record, and the U.S.
Copyright Office generally cannot remove any information from the public record once a
registration has been issued.
Section 705(a) of the Copyright Act requires the Register of Copyrights to prepare and
maintain “records of deposits, registrations, recordations, and other actions” taken by
the Office. 17 U.S.C. § 705(a)17 U.S.C. § 705(a). . Section 705(b) states that all records
maintained by the Office in connection with a completed copyright registration “shall be
open to public inspection.” 17 U.S.C. § 705(b).
With regard to copyright registrations, the Office requests and receives personally
identifiable information (“PII”), such as birth dates, addresses, and telephone
numbers. The collection of certain types of PII is mandated by statute or regulation,
while other requested information is optional for the applicant to provide. See 17
U.S.C. § 409. Both types of information are collectively referred to as “Requested PII.”
The Office will make the information provided in a copyrightthe application available
to the general public upon request, and much of this information will be available on the
Internet through the Office’s online database. For an example of the type of
information that is typically displayed in the Office’s online database, see the privacy
page on the Office’s website..
The Office does not request, but sometimes receives, additional PII, such as driver’s
license, social security, and credit card numbers. This type of information is unnecessary
for copyright registration and is referred to in the Office’s regulations as “extraneous
PII.” See 37 C.F.R. § 201.2(f).
Applicants should not provide extraneous PII in an application. To protect the privacy of
applicants, the Office may remove this type of information from an application during
the examination process on its own initiative. If extraneous PII is included within the
Office’s public records, an author or claimant may request removal of this information in
accordance with the Office’s regulations. There is no fee for this service. See id.
Additionally, applicants should not provide any other type of private or confidential
information in the application that is not required for registration, because it may also
be included in the Office’s online and offline public records.
Before submitting an application, an applicant should consider whether to include a
birth date, nickname, alias, or other personal information that is not required for
registration. For example, providing the name, address, telephone number, and email
address of the person who should be contacted for permission to use the work is
optional, and the Office will accept an application even if an applicant leaves the Rights
and Permissions section blank. Although an applicant is encouraged to provide contact
information for rights and permission purposes, it is important to understand that if the
applicant completes this portion of the application, the Office will include this
information in the online database.
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If an applicant wants to provide contact information for persons who may be interested
in using the work — but does not want to provide a home address or other personal
information — the applicant should consider providing the name of a designated agent,
a P.O. Boxpost office box, or a designated email address in the Rights and Permissions
field of the application.
Modification of the information in the Office’s online public record (but not its offline
public record) is available where the author or claimant submits a written request to
remove or replace non-personally identifiable information for certain types of
Requested PII (such as replacing a home address with a P.O. Box number), and pays the
appropriate fee for this service. See 37 C.F.R. §§ 201.1(c)(8), 201.2(e). For more
information on this procedure, see Chapter 1800, Section 1805.
See generally Removal of Personally Identifiable Information From Registration Records,
82 Fed. Reg. 9004 (Feb. 2, 2017).
206 	General Overview of the Examination Process
Once the U.S. Copyright Office receives the application, deposit copy(ies), and filing fee,
the application and deposit copy(ies) will be sent to the Registration Program, where
together they will be assigned to a registration specialist. The specialist will examine
these materials to determine whether the work constitutes copyrightable subject matter
and if the applicant has met the other legal and formal requirements, including those set
forth in the Copyright Act, the Copyright Office regulations, and the Compendium of U.S.
Copyright Office Practices. See 17 U.S.C. § 410(a). For detailed information on this
process, see Chapter 600.
207 	Special Handling
Special handling is a procedure for expediting the examination of an application to
register a claim to copyright. There is an additional fee for this expedited service. For
information concerning this fee, see the Office’s See fee schedule.
The U.S. Copyright Office offers this service in certain circumstances where a copyright
owner or other interested parties have a compelling reason for an expedited decision on
a pending application. Special handling may be requested for an online application or a
paper application in the following circumstances:
• 	Pending or prospective litigation;
• 	Customs matters; or
• 	Contract or publishing deadlines that necessitate the expedited issuance of a
certificate of registration.
Once it has received and approved a request for special handling, the Office will make
every attempt to process the application within five business days, although the Office
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cannot guarantee that it will process all special handling applications within that time
frame, particularly if the claims present issues requiring correspondence.
For detailed information on special handling, see Chapter 600, Section 623.
208 	Withdrawing an Application
An applicant may submit a request to withdraw a pending application at any time before
the U.S. Copyright Office has issued a certificate of registration or has refused to register
the claim. The request should be made in writing and, it should explain why the
applicant is seeking to withdraw the claim. , and it should be sent to the following
address:
The request should be addressed to the “Associate Register of Copyrights and Director
of Registration Policy & Practice.” The applicant may email the request to the
registration specialist who has been assigned to the claim. Alternatively, the applicant
may mail the request to the following address:
Associate Register of Copyrights and
Director of Registration Policy &and Practice
Registration Program
U.S. Copyright Office
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20559
The Office will use its discretion to decide whether to approve or deny a timely
withdrawal request. In making this decision, the Office will balance the interest of the
applicant with the public interest in maintaining the integrity of the registration record.
The Office does not routinely grant withdrawals, particularly where the request is made
merely to avoid a refusal to register.
In the event that the Office approves a withdrawal request, the Office will not refund the
filing fee and will not return the deposit copy(ies). The Office will not reinstate an
application once it has been withdrawn. If the applicant wishes to resubmit the claim,
the applicant must file a new application, new deposit copy(ies), and the correct filing
fee. The effective date of registration for a new claim will be based on the date that the
new submission is received by the Office.
209 	The Certificate of Registration and the Effective Date of Registration
If the applicant appears to meet the legal and formal requirements, the U.S. Copyright
Office will register the claim. The Office will issue a certificate of registration which
contains much of the information that the applicant provided in the application. In
addition, the Office will create an online public record for the registration, which may be
accessed through the Office’s online database. See 17 U.S.C. § 410(a).
Both the certificate and the online public record contain a registration number and an
effective date of registration. The effective date of registration is the date on which the
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Office received an acceptable application, complete deposit copy(ies), and the proper
filing fee. See 17 U.S.C. § 410(d). For detailed information on this topic, see Chapter 600,
Section 625.
210 	When Does a Registration Expire?
Registrations and renewal registrations issued under the current statute (the 1976 Act)
expire when the work enters the public domain in the United States. As discussed in
Section 203, a copyrighted work enters the public domain in this country when the
copyright term for that work has expired under U.S. law.
Registrations issued under the prior statute (the 1909 Act) expire at the end of the first
twenty-eight years of the copyright term, and if the copyright is renewed, the renewal
registration expires at the end of the renewal term. See Supplementary Registration, 81
Fed. Reg. 86,656, 86,660 n.23 (Dec. 1, 2016).
The fact that a work has entered the public domain in a foreign jurisdiction does not
mean it has entered the public domain in the United States.
211 	Registration Refused After Examination
The U.S. Copyright Office registers claims to copyright and issues certificates of
registration only when an applicant appears to meet the legal and formal requirements
set forth in the Copyright Act, the Copyright Office regulations, and the Compendium of
U.S. Copyright Office Practices. See 17 U.S.C. § 410(a).
If the Office finds that an applicant has not met the legal requirements for copyright
registration, the Office will refuse to register the claim and will specify the reasons for
its decision. The Office will notify the applicant by sending a written communication to
the address provided in the Correspondent field/space of the application. For examples
of situations in which the Office will refuse to register a claim because of a failure to
meet the legal and/or formal requirements, see Chapter 600, Section 608, and Chapter
1500, Section 1503.2Chapter 600, Section 608.
An applicant may appeal a refusal to register a copyright claim. For more information on
the appeals process, see Chapter 1700.
An applicant may institute a civil suit for copyright infringement even if the Office has
refused to register a claim, provided that the applicant satisfies the requirements set
forth in Section 411(a) of the Copyright Act. For information concerning this topic, see
Chapter 1700, Section 1706.
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211 	212 	General Policies Regarding Inaccuracies and Misrepresentations
212211.1 	Material Misrepresentations
Knowingly making a false representation of a material fact in an application for
copyright registration, or in any written statement filed in connection with the
application, is a crime that is punishable under 17 U.S.C. § 506(e).
212211.2 	Immaterial Inaccuracies in the Application
As a general rule, the registration specialist may ignore immaterial inaccuracies in the
application that appear to be inadvertent and do not affect the registrability of the claim.
For information concerning the U.S. Copyright Office’s practices and procedures for
dealing with inaccuracies in an application, see Chapter 600, Section 603.
212211.3 	Minor Substantive Errors or Omissions in a Certificate of Found Post-
Registration
If the information set forth in the registration record is incorrect or incomplete, an
applicant may be able to correct that error or omission by submitting an application for
a supplementary registration, or under certain limited circumstances, by submitting a
new application for a new basic registration. For a discussion of these procedures, see
Chapter 1800, Sections 1802 and 1803.
212.4 	Cancellation
If the U.S. Copyright Office discovers ana minor substantive error or omissionin the
registration record, it may attempt to correct that error through a procedure known as a
referral. For a general discussion of this procedure, see Chapter 1800, Section 1804.
211.4 	Major Substantive Errors Found Post-Registration
If the U.S. Copyright Office discovers a major substantive error in the registration
record, it may contact the applicant to correct the error, or it may cancel the registration
if warranted under the Office’s cancellation regulations. See 37 C.F.R. § 201.7. For a
discussion of cancellation, see Chapter 1800, Section 18071806.
213212 	The Registration Process at a Glance
The following chart illustrates the registration process from start to finish:
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Applicant
provides
suffi cient
application,
fee, deposit
copy(ies), and
the work is
copyrightable.
If the Copyright Office
fi nds the work is
uncopyrightable, the claim
is rejected.
Applicant cures
deficiencies.
If the work is copyrightable
but the application,
fee, and/or deposit
copy(ies) are insufficient,
the Copyright Office
communicates with the
applicant.
The Copyright Office registers the
claim. Certificate is mailed to the
applicant.
Applicant fails to cure
deficiencies or does
not reply.
The Copyright Office
closes the claim.
The Office reviews the
request to determine if the
work is copyrightable.
Applicant may ask the
Office to reconsider the
rejection in writing for an
additional fee.
On first review, if the
Copyright Offi ce fi nds the
work is uncopyrightable,
the claim is rejected.
The Copyright Office
determines the work is
copyrightable.
The Copyright Office
determines the work is
copyrightable.
Applicant may ask the
Office to reconsider the
rejection in writing for an
additional fee.	On second review, if the
Copyright Offi ce fi nds the
work is uncopyrightable,
the Copyright Office
affirms the rejection.
Applicant submits
application, fee, and
deposit copy(ies).
Applicant
Copyright Office
The Office reviews the
request to determine if the
work is copyrightable.
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