Copyright Office Proposes New Rule Concerning Group Registration for Periodical Contributions | Practical Law

Copyright Office Proposes New Rule Concerning Group Registration for Periodical Contributions | Practical Law

The US Copyright Office is seeking public comments on a proposed rule to amend the regulation concerning group registration for periodical contributions by requiring, among other things, applicants to file applications through the electronic registration system.

Copyright Office Proposes New Rule Concerning Group Registration for Periodical Contributions

by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology
Published on 02 Dec 2016 • USA (National/Federal)
The US Copyright Office is seeking public comments on a proposed rule to amend the regulation concerning group registration for periodical contributions by requiring, among other things, applicants to file applications through the electronic registration system.
On December 1, 2016, the US Copyright Office published a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the regulation governing group registration for contributions to periodicals (GRCP) to, among other things, require:
  • Applications for group registration of contributions to be filed through the Copyright Office's electronic registration system.
  • Applicants to;
    • submit the contributions in digital format; and
    • upload the files through the electronic system.
(81 Fed. Reg. 86634-01, (Dec. 1, 2016).)
Since 1978, the Copyright Office has allowed GRCP with one application and one filing fee in certain situations. Applicants wishing to obtain such group registrations must submit:
  • Either one copy of an entire issue of the periodical, or an entire section of a newspaper, in which each contribution was first published.
  • A paper application using the appropriate form.
There is no limit on the number of contributions that could be registered with the GRCP option.
In 2002, the Copyright Office amended the regulation to allow applicants to submit their contributions in several different additional formats to ensure that the deposit requirement was reasonable and not burdensome to the applicant.
The proposed rule would:
  • Require applicants to register their contributions through the Copyright Office's electronic registration system.
  • Modify eligibility requirements for the GRCP option by:
    • providing a more specific definition for what constitutes a periodical; and
    • requiring each contribution to be owned by the same copyright claimant.
  • Eliminate the provision allowing group contributions to be registered as a work of performing art (Class PA) and require applicants to register their contributions as either:
    • Nondramatic literary works (Class TX) if most of the contributions predominantly consist of text; or
    • Works of the visual arts (Class VA) if most of the contributions predominantly consist of photographs, illustrations, artwork, or other visual material.
  • Require applicants to identify each contribution's publication date and the periodical where each contribution was first published.
  • Modify the deposit requirement by requiring applicants to:
    • submit a digital copy of each contribution included in the group; and
    • upload those copies through the electronic system.
  • Clarify that a registration for a group of contributions to periodicals covers each contribution in the group and each contribution is registered as a separate work.
  • Confirm that the Copyright Office may refuse to issue a group registration or may cancel a group registration if the GRCP requirements are not met.
Interested parties may submit written comments here no later than January 3, 2017.
On December 15, 2016, the Copyright Office extended the deadline to submit written comments to January 30, 2017 to ensure that commenters have sufficient time to respond (81 Fed. Reg. 90753-01, (Dec. 15, 2016)).