The Copyright Office filed a final rule on July 6, 2012 amending its regulations governing deposit requirements for applications for automated databases that consist predominantly of photographs. Under this amendment, when a registration is made for a database consisting predominantly of photographs and the copyright claim extends to the individual photographs, each photograph must be included as part of the deposit accompanying the application. Simply identifying portions and giving a descriptive statement without providing the actual photograph will no longer constitute a sufficient deposit.

The Copyright Office has historically allowed photographers to register collections of photographs when certain requirements are met. This amendment will align the deposit requirements for paper applications to register automated databases that predominantly consist of photographs with the prevailing industry practices and the requirements already imposed for all other registration options for groups of photographs.

The rule will be published on July 9, 2012.