Copyright Office Proposes New Rule Concerning Supplementary Registration | Practical Law

Copyright Office Proposes New Rule Concerning Supplementary Registration | Practical Law

The US Copyright Office has proposed changes to its regulation concerning supplementary registration that would, among other things, require most applicants seeking to correct or amplify information set forth in a basic copyright registration to submit an online supplementary registration application rather than a paper one for most works.

Copyright Office Proposes New Rule Concerning Supplementary Registration

Practical Law Legal Update w-004-8088 (Approx. 3 pages)

Copyright Office Proposes New Rule Concerning Supplementary Registration

by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology
Published on 01 Dec 2016 • USA (National/Federal)
The US Copyright Office has proposed changes to its regulation concerning supplementary registration that would, among other things, require most applicants seeking to correct or amplify information set forth in a basic copyright registration to submit an online supplementary registration application rather than a paper one for most works.
On December 1, 2016, the US Copyright Office issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend its regulation concerning supplementary registration (81 Fed. Reg. 86656-01, (Dec. 1, 2016)). The proposed rule would also update certain examination practices.
Currently, an applicant may submit a supplementary registration application to either:
  • Correct an error made in a basic copyright registration.
  • Amplify the information given in the registration.
While applicants have been able to file basic copyright registrations through the electronic registration system since 2007, the Copyright Office now only accepts paper supplementary registration applications. The proposed rule would require applicants to submit electronic supplementary registration applications for most works, even if the basic registration was filed using the paper application. The Copyright Office will continue to accept paper supplementary registration applications only for certain classes of works.
The proposed rule would also update certain examination practices to, among other things:
  • Reflect changes to the Compendium of Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition.
  • Update rules concerning when the Copyright Office may decline to issue a supplementary registration.
  • Update practices concerning cross-references in the Copyright Office's public record to include cross-references between supplementary and basic registrations regardless of who submitted the supplementary registration application.
  • Clarify that there is no limit on the number of supplementary registrations that may be issued for a particular basic registration.
  • Require applicants to certify that they reviewed the certificate of registration for the basic registration before submitting their supplementary registration application.
  • Clarify that the Copyright Office will correct an error in the basic registration that it caused.
Interested parties may submit comments in writing 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. 90753-03, (Dec. 15, 2016)).