On September 9, 2016, the US Copyright Office issued a final rule amending its regulations to alter the deadline for submitting requests for reconsideration of refusals to register a copyright claim (81 FR 62373-01). Under the amended regulations, reconsideration requests must be postmarked or dispatched by a commercial carrier, courier, or messenger no later than three months after a refusal is issued by the Copyright Office.

Previously, reconsideration requests had to be received by the Copyright Office, by mail, within three months after the refusal was issued. The amended rule seeks to avoid any uncertainty about how long it may actually take for a mailing to be received by the Copyright Office.

The rule is effective as of September 9, 2016.