Registration Modernization, 12704-12714 [2020-04435]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
37 CFR Parts 201 and 202
[Docket No. 2018–9]
Registration Modernization
U.S. Copyright Office, Library
of Congress.
ACTION: Statement of policy and
notification of inquiry.
AGENCY:
In conjunction with the
development of new technological
infrastructure for the copyright
registration system, on October 17,
2018, the U.S. Copyright Office solicited
public input regarding potential
regulatory and practice updates to
improve the system’s efficiency for both
users and the Office. The Office sought
and received public comment on three
main areas of proposed reform: The
administration and substance of the
application for registration, the utility of
the public record, and the deposit
requirements for registration. After
reviewing the comments, the Office is
announcing intended practice updates,
to be adopted in conjunction with the
deployment of the new technological
system that the Library of Congress is
building for the Office. The Office also
seeks further comment on two proposals
to permit post-registration edits to rights
and permissions information, and to
permit voluntary submission of
additional deposit information to be
included in the public record.
DATES: Written comments must be
received no later than 11:59 p.m.
Eastern Time on April 2, 2020.
ADDRESSES: For reasons of government
efficiency, the Copyright Office is using
the regulations.gov system for the
submission and posting of public
comments in this proceeding. All
comments are therefore to be submitted
electronically through regulations.gov.
Specific instructions for submitting
comments are available on the
Copyright Office website at https://
www.copyright.gov/rulemaking/regmodernization/. If electronic submission
of comments is not feasible due to lack
of access to a computer and/or the
internet, please contact the Office, using
the contact information below, for
special instructions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Regan A. Smith, General Counsel and
Associate Register of Copyrights,
regans@copyright.gov; Robert J. Kasunic,
Associate Register of Copyrights and
Director of Registration Policy and
Practice, rkas@copyright.gov; Kevin
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Amer, Deputy General Counsel, kamer@
copyright.gov; Erik Bertin, Deputy
Director of Registration Policy and
Practice, ebertin@copyright.gov; or
Jalyce E. Mangum, Attorney-Advisor,
jmang@copyright.gov. They can be
reached by telephone at 202–707–3000.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A highly
functional registration system is of
paramount importance to the Copyright
Office as it administers title 17 for the
benefit of the nation’s thriving copyright
ecosystem.1 Copyright registration
provides valuable benefits to copyright
owners, including providing access to
federal court to initiate a lawsuit for
infringement of a U.S. work,2 serving as
prima facie evidence of the validity of
the copyright and the facts stated in the
certificate of registration,3 and enabling
copyright owners to seek statutory
damages and attorneys’ fees in litigation
for works that are timely registered.4
Registration also benefits users and
prospective users of creative works by
enabling them to find key facts relating
to the authorship and ownership of such
works in the Office’s online public
record.5
Accordingly, modernizing the
technological infrastructure of the
copyright registration system is one of
the Office’s top priorities. The Office is
working with the Library of Congress’s
Office of Chief Information Officer
(‘‘OCIO’’), which is building an
enterprise copyright system (‘‘ECS’’) to
improve the Office’s provision of
copyright services to the public,
including its registration services.
Copyright Office information technology
(IT) modernization is being
implemented in accordance with the
overall model of IT centralization at the
Library of Congress. Under this model,
‘‘the Copyright Office, with its expertise
of both copyright law and its internal
systems, provides required business
features to the OCIO. The OCIO then
uses its expertise to develop technology
solutions to support those features for
the Copyright Office.’’ 6
To take advantage of forthcoming IT
modernization development efforts and
promote an efficient and innovative
registration system, the Office published
1 See 17 U.S.C. 701(a) (‘‘All administrative
functions and duties under this title . . . are the
responsibility of the Register of Copyrights as
director of the Copyright Office of the Library of
Congress.’’).
2 17 U.S.C. 411(a).
3 17 U.S.C. 410(c).
4 17 U.S.C. 412.
5 Additional information is available at https://
www.copyright.gov/registration/.
6 Library of Congress Modernization Oversight:
Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Rules and Admin.,
116th Cong. 24 (2019) (Statement of Carla Hayden,
Librarian of Congress).
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a notice of inquiry in October 2018
(‘‘2018 NOI’’) inviting public comment
on several potential practice and policy
changes to better meet the demands of
users of the registration system in the
digital age.7 The 2018 NOI previewed
technological features that the Office
would like to be incorporated into the
ECS, including a more dynamic
application tracking dashboard, an
integrated drag-and-drop submission
option for electronic deposits, and an
improved messaging system to improve
communication between the Office and
applicants.8 The Office also announced
an intention to display a draft version of
the registration certificate before final
submission so that applicants can
confirm that they have entered the
correct information.9 In addition to
announcing these intended user
features, the Office posed fifteen
questions that fell into three categories
of possible reform: (1) The
administration and substance of the
application for registration, (2) the
utility of the public record, and (3) the
deposit requirements for registration.10
Commenters expressed broad general
support for the proposals set forth in the
2018 NOI. The Copyright Alliance was
‘‘pleased that the Office is considering
a broad range of legal and policy
changes regarding registration, and
seeking input from stakeholders early in
that process.’’ 11 Noting that ‘‘[a]
modernized registration system is key
for the healthy functioning of the
copyright ecosystem in the 21st
century,’’ the Association of American
Publishers (‘‘AAP’’) expressed support
for many of the Office’s ‘‘innovative
proposals to make the registration
process more efficient, intuitive, and
competitive,’’ 12 and the American
Intellectual Property Law Association
(‘‘AIPLA’’) specifically praised the
proposed updates that would allow
‘‘user-errors [to] be reduced through
7 Registration Modernization, 83 FR 52336 (Oct.
17, 2018).
8 Id. at 52337.
9 Id. A similar display feature will be provided in
the forthcoming electronic recordation system pilot.
10 Id.
11 Copyright Alliance Comments, at 1–2 (Jan. 15,
2019); see also, e.g., National Music Publishers’
Association (‘‘NMPA’’) Comments, at 3 (Jan. 15,
2019) (‘‘NMPA appreciates the opportunity to
comment on how the Office can design a
registration system that will fit the needs of the
modern music industry.’’); Recording Industry
Association of America, Inc. (‘‘RIAA’’) Comments,
at 2 (Jan. 15, 2019) (‘‘RIAA and its members
applaud the Copyright Office . . . for thinking
broadly about a variety of steps that could be taken
to modernize the current copyright registration
process.’’). Unless otherwise noted, all comments
cited refer to comments submitted in response to
the 2018 Notice of Inquiry Regarding Registration
Modernization.
12 AAP Comments, at 8 (Jan. 15, 2019).
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self-correction and proofing prior to
filing.’’ 13
Other commenters opined that the
Office’s proposals did not address all of
the shortcomings of the current
registration system. For example, the
Coalition of Visual Artists (‘‘CVA’’)
cautioned the Office to avoid making
incremental improvements when a
comprehensive modernization effort is
necessary to make the registration
system easier and more cost effective for
authors to use.14 The Graphic Artists
Guild (‘‘GAG’’) similarly contended that
the modernization effort should not
‘‘proceed in a piecemeal fashion,
without substantive changes to a system
that for individual visual artists is
broken.’’ 15 It expressed particular
concern about registration processing
times, highlighting that ‘‘[t]he
processing time for the simplest online
copyright registrations, requiring no
communication, averages six
months.’’ 16
The Office takes these comments
seriously and is pleased to note that,
separate from the IT modernization
process, it already has taken significant
steps toward addressing a number of
commenters’ concerns. For example, the
Office has made extensive efforts to
reduce registration processing times,
particularly in light of the Supreme
Court’s 2019 decision in Fourth Estate
Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com,
which confirmed that Copyright Office
action on an application for registration
must be complete before the owner of a
U.S. work can bring an infringement
suit.17 Since 2018, the average
processing time for claims that are
received through the electronic
registration system and do not require
correspondence (which make up
seventy-two percent of claims) has been
reduced from six months to three
months.18
As a second example apart from IT
modernization, the Office has also
issued a notice of inquiry requesting
written comments on issues relating to
online publication, including whether
and how to amend its registration
regulations and other considerations
relevant to ensuring continued thorough
assistance to Congress.19 This notice
seeks to address recent feedback to the
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13 AIPLA
Comments, at 2 (Jan. 15, 2019).
Comments, at 2–3 (Jan. 15, 2019).
15 GAG Comments, at 2 (Jan. 15, 2019).
16 Id. at 1.
17 139 S. Ct. 881, 888, 892 (2019).
18 U.S. Copyright Office, Registration Processing
Times, https://www.copyright.gov/registration/
docs/processing-times-faqs.pdf. The data is from
April 1 through September 30, 2019.
19 See Online Publication, 84 FR 66328 (Dec. 4,
2019).
14 CVA
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Office suggesting that the statutorilydrawn distinction between published
and unpublished works is, as Copyright
Alliance put it, ‘‘so complex and
divergent from an intuitive and
colloquial understanding of the terms
that it serves as a barrier to registration,
especially with respect to works that are
disseminated online.’’ 20 The Office will
analyze these issues related to online
publication, as well as other potential
practice changes, contemporaneously
with, yet separately from, the OCIO’s
efforts to upgrade the IT system through
establishment of an ECS. While the
Copyright Office remains dedicated to
continuously exploring potential
regulatory and/or practice changes
through public discussion, the current
Registration Modernization proceeding
focuses on the practices directly
relevant to the pending technological
upgrades. The Library has committed to
an IT development approach that can
meet ‘‘the complex and unique mission
of the Copyright Office today and for the
future,’’ including ‘‘to accommodate
possible future legal responsibilities’’
and to meet ‘‘evolving business
needs.’’ 21 To the extent the publication
proceeding, other pending or future
rulemakings, result in regulatory or
practice changes that need to be
accommodated in the Office’s
technology, the Office will
communicate those requirements to the
OCIO, but such changes will be
considered separately from the umbrella
of ‘‘modernization.’’ 22
With respect to IT modernization, the
Office is prioritizing public outreach to
gain additional information about the
needs and concerns of users of the
registration system. The Office created a
dedicated IT modernization web page to
keep stakeholders apprised of the status
of modernization efforts.23 In early
2019, the Office launched a bimonthly
webinar series to report on the progress
achieved on IT modernization
initiatives and to discuss the overall
direction of modernization.24 And the
Office continues to meet regularly with
stakeholders and deliver presentations
to external audiences to provide updates
on modernization activities. OCIO user
experience (UX) experts are also
committed and involved to ensure that
development can incorporate public
input through robust user participation
and feedback.25
To further advance these efforts, and
following careful consideration of the
comments received in response to the
2018 NOI, the Office is now announcing
plans to adopt eleven registration
practice updates that it will identify as
business needs to the OCIO, so that they
may be incorporated into the design of
the new ECS to support a more userfriendly and efficient registration
process that is simpler, clearer, secure,
and adaptable. As detailed below, these
updates relate to both the substance of
the registration application and the
utility of the online public record from
a registration-specific perspective. The
Office has concluded that each of these
intended practice changes or design
features can be incorporated into the
ECS without adjusting existing
regulatory language. As development
efforts progress, the Office envisions
initiating a pilot program that could
permit incorporation of these updates
through an iterative process that also
takes into account participants’ input,
similar to the recently-announced pilot
for the electronic recordation system.26
The Office also seeks further input
from the public regarding two
additional issues: (1) How the Office
might implement a system that would
allow users to make post-registration
amendments to rights and permissions
and unique identifier information; and
(2) further considerations related to the
possibility of permitting the voluntary
submission of an additional publicfacing deposit, that may display lowresolution or incomplete portions of the
registered work to enhance the public
record.
20 84 FR at 66328 (citing Copyright Alliance
Comments, at 5 (Jan. 15, 2019)).
21 Letter from Carla Hayden, Librarian of
Congress, and Karyn A. Temple, Register of
Copyrights & Dir., to Hon. Thom Tillis, United
States Senate, 2–3 (Sept. 30, 2019), https://
www.copyright.gov/rulemaking/reg-modernization/
letter-to-senator-thom-tillis.pdf.
22 As one exception; separately, the Office has
issued two interim rules connected to the related
IT modernization efforts with respect to its
Recordation program. See Modernizing Copyright
Recordation, 82 FR 52213 (Nov. 13, 2017); 85 FR
3854 (Jan. 23, 2020).
23 U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright
Modernization, https://www.copyright.gov/
copyright-modernization/.
24 U.S. Copyright Office, Modernization Webinar,
https://www.copyright.gov/copyrightmodernization/webinar/.
25 Letter from Carla Hayden, Librarian of
Congress, and Karyn A. Temple, Register of
Copyrights & Dir., to Hon. Thom Tillis, United
States Senate, 4–5 (Sept. 30, 2019), https://
www.copyright.gov/rulemaking/reg-modernization/
letter-to-senator-thom-tillis.pdf; Letter from Carla
Hayden, Librarian of Congress, to Thom Tillis,
Chairman, S. Comm. on the Judiciary, Subcomm. on
Intellectual Prop., and Christopher A. Coons,
Ranking Member, S. Comm. on the Judiciary,
Subcomm. on Intellectual Prop., 8–9 (Jan. 7, 2020),
https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/
Hayden%20Responses%20to%20QFRs.pdf.
26 See 85 FR at 3854.
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 42 / Tuesday, March 3, 2020 / Proposed Rules
I. Registration Practice Updates
(A) The Application Process: How Users
Engage With the Registration System
(1) New Application Assistance Tools
Recognizing that users approach the
system with varying levels of
understanding of copyright law and
technical experience, the NOI sought
input on how the Office should
integrate in-application support and
assistance to users of the electronic
registration system. The Office proposed
multi-tiered support options to offer
basic, intermediate, or in-depth support
based on user experience level.27
All commenters expressed support for
some form of improved assistance for
users.28 Some encouraged the Office to
focus on improving the materials and
resources currently available to
applicants, with, for example, the AAP
and the Motion Picture Association of
America, Inc. (‘‘MPAA’’) urging the
Office to expand upon its existing
Frequently Asked Questions web
page.29 The Association of Medical
Illustrators (‘‘AMI’’) proposed that the
Office provide a service similar to that
of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
(‘‘USPTO’’), which ‘‘maintains an
inventor assistance hotline as well as a
call center providing live, telephonic
assistance in resolving problems of
formalities of electronically submitted
patent applications.’’ 30
Other commenters recommended the
development of new in-application
assistance tools. For example, GAG
suggested that the Office incorporate
frequently asked questions and answers
‘‘throughout the registration application
stream (possibly within an interactive
widget that won’t clutter or obstruct the
interface).’’ 31 The New York Intellectual
Property Law Association (‘‘NYIPLA’’)
urged the Office to provide ‘‘more
information and guidance in the online
forms themselves,’’ and suggested that
the USPTO’s ‘‘method of providing
links to pop-up windows with
additional information provides a good
27 83
FR at 52338.
AIPLA Comments, at 2 (‘‘AIPLA . . .
supports including more embedded links to provide
immediate help in completing each section of the
online application.’’); Copyright Alliance
Comments, at 4 (‘‘As an organization that represents
a diverse group of copyright owners—including
individual creators, and small and large
businesses—the Copyright Alliance supports a
multi-tier approach to in-application support and
assistance that would more effectively meet the
specific needs of both novice and experienced
applicants.’’); NMPA Comments, at 3 (‘‘NMPA
supports a multi-tiered approach to in-application
assistance.’’).
29 AAP Comments, at 4; MPAA Comments, at 2–
3 (Jan. 15, 2019).
30 AMI Comments, at 3 (Jan. 15, 2019).
31 GAG Comments, at 3.
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28 See
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model for how information can be
presented to users.’’ 32
The Office will pursue both
approaches. The Office is updating its
website to provide additional guidance
that applicants can consult before they
begin or while they are completing an
application. In addition to improving
existing FAQs, the Office is updating its
questionnaires and adding video
tutorials. The Office also will request
development of new tools for inapplication assistance, such as the
tiered system proposed in the 2018 NOI,
subject to usability testing during the
OCIO’s ECS development.
(2) Electronic Applications
The 2018 NOI sought comment on
whether the Office should switch to a
strictly-electronic system. After
considering the feedback received, the
Office will continue to encourage the
use of electronic applications over paper
forms by differentiating the fees for the
standard and paper applications. But it
will not, at this time, eliminate paper
applications.
While paper applications remain the
most cumbersome for the Office to
ingest and examine,33 these forms serve
populations that do not have access to
a computer or the internet. The Office
notes GAG’s comment that ‘‘there will
always be a certain portion of the
population who, for various reasons
(such as disability, distance from
libraries, time constraints, etc.) are
unable to avail themselves of those
resources.’’ 34 Additionally, several
commenters expressed concerns about
potential technology failures.35 The
2018 NOI also sought input on whether
to switch to electronic-only payment
methods, eliminating the instances
where payments may be made by cash
or check. After consideration of these
comments and review of the various
regulatory provisions regarding
32 NYIPLA
Comments, at 2 (Jan. 15, 2019).
83 FR at 52338 (noting that ‘‘a significant
portion of claims submitted on paper forms require
correspondence or other action from the Office,
which further increases pendency times and
contributes to the overall backlog of pending
claims.’’).
34 GAG Comments, at 4.
35 AIPLA Comments, at 2 (‘‘[T]echnology has
limitations and suffers downtime and failures. It is
often critically important that applicants file within
strict time requirements to enforce their rights in
court (17 U.S.C. 411) or avoid losing statutory
benefits (17 U.S.C. 412).’’); GAG Comments, at 4
(‘‘Paper applications . . . fill in the gap when a
system outage or government shutdown make the
eCO system unavailable.’’); NMPA Comments, at 6
(‘‘[O]ur members who opt for the paper application
largely do so because of negative experiences with
the electronic system or interfering outages. Our
members have found paper applications a useful
backup option for when the electronic system is
down.’’).
33 See
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payments,36 the Office has determined
to issue a separate notice to discuss
proposed changes to streamline and
harmonize its payment processing rules.
The Office may separately consider
questions related to the feasibility of
subscription pricing under its current
statutory authority.
(3) Electronic Certificates
Upon approving an application for
registration of a copyright claim, the
Office issues a certificate of
registration.37 While the Office has
traditionally issued certificates in paper
form, the 2018 NOI proposed providing
electronic certificates in a secure form to
ensure authenticity. The cost of the
electronic certificate would be included
in the registration fee. The Office
proposed that it would provide paper
certificates upon request for an
additional fee.38
All commenters supported the
issuance of electronic certificates.39 In
response to the Office’s explanation that
printing paper certificates ‘‘requires a
substantial amount of resources both in
terms of employee compensation and
the cost of maintaining printing
equipment,’’ 40 AMI agreed that
‘‘resources currently utilized for
printing and mailing paper certificates
should be redirected to other services,
such as better application assistance.’’ 41
The Office accordingly will issue
electronic certificates in the new ECS as
a matter of course. The Office intends to
offer paper certificates for an additional
fee.42 In addition, as noted below, the
Office has determined that it is
appropriate for these electronic
certificates to be viewable in the public
record.
Some commenters expressed concern
about whether courts would accept
36 See, e.g., 37 CFR 201.6(a), 201.33(e)(2),
201.39(g)(3), 202.12(c)(2)(ii), 202.23(e)(2).
37 17 U.S.C. 410(a), 708(a)(1).
38 83 FR at 52338–39; see 37 CFR 201.3(c)(14)
(2019) (fee for obtaining an additional certificate).
39 See, e.g., Author Services, Inc. Comments, at 2
(Jan. 8, 2019) (‘‘We support this proposal’’);
Copyright Alliance Comments, at 9 (‘‘The Copyright
Alliance supports the Office’s proposal to issue
electronic certificates in lieu of paper copies and
only offer paper certificates for an additional fee’’);
GAG Comments, at 4 (‘‘We agree with the Copyright
Office’s proposal that registration certificates be
supplied as electronic documents with validating
watermarks, etc.’’); MPAA Comments, at 5 (‘‘The
MPAA has no objection to the Office issuing
electronic certificates in the normal course, with
paper certificates available for an additional fee.’’);
News Media Alliance (‘‘NMA’’) Comments, at 4
(Jan. 15, 2019) (‘‘The Alliance supports the issuance
of electronic certificates, particularly if it would
expedite the application process and the resulting
savings are used to offset costs to the registrants.’’).
40 83 FR at 52338.
41 AMI Comments, at 4.
42 The Office will issue a notice regarding any
additional fees. See 17 U.S.C. 708.
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electronic certificates.43 The Office will
request implementation of visual
markers, such as watermarks, to indicate
that an Office-issued electronic
registration certificate is indeed
authentic.
(B) Application Information: The
Information Requested on the
Application for Registration
(1) Simplifying the Authorship
Statement
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The Copyright Act does not require
registration applicants to describe the
type of work for which registration is
sought, except in the case of a
compilation or derivative work.44 But
the Act permits the Register to require
‘‘any other information’’ that bears
‘‘upon the preparation or identification
of the work or the existence, ownership,
or duration of the copyright.’’ 45 Thus,
under current practices, ‘‘[t]o register a
work of authorship, the applicant must
file an application that clearly identifies
the copyrightable authorship that the
applicant intends to register.’’ 46 In the
online application, the applicant can
identify that authorship by ‘‘checking
one or more of the boxes in the Author
Created field that accurately describe
the authorship.’’ 47 The options
available vary depending on the type of
application in use (e.g., Literary, Visual
Arts, or Performing Arts). If registering
a literary work, the options are ‘‘text,’’
‘‘computer program,’’ ‘‘photograph(s),’’
or ‘‘artwork.’’ If registering a visual arts
work, the options include ‘‘photograph’’
and ‘‘two-dimensional artwork,’’ among
others. If registering a performing arts
work, the options include ‘‘music,’’
‘‘lyrics,’’ ‘‘other text (includes script,
screenplay, dramatic work),’’ and
‘‘musical arrangement.’’ As a result,
works are described by their individual
elements (e.g., text, lyrics, or twodimensional artwork), rather than by a
holistic description of the work such as
‘‘children’s book with illustrations,’’
‘‘research paper,’’ or ‘‘craft book with
photographs,’’ which may be more
helpful for future identification
purposes. Seeking to capture a more
complete description of works
submitted for registration, the Office
proposed to adjust the Author Created
section and ask applicants to identify
43 Copyright Alliance Comments, at 9; MPAA
Comments, at 5–6; NMPA Comments at 7; NYIPLA
Comments, at 2; RIAA Comments, at 3.
44 See 17 U.S.C. 409(1)–(10).
45 Id. at 409(10).
46 U.S. Copyright Office, Compendium of U.S.
Copyright Office Practices sec. 618.1 (3d ed. 2017)
(‘‘Compendium (Third)’’).
47 Id. at sec. 618.4(A).
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the work as a whole instead of the
work’s individual elements.48
Although the Office did not receive
comments objecting to the adjustment of
this requirement per se, several
commenters opposed the wholesale
elimination of the online application’s
Author Created section.49 For example,
AAP argued that it is ‘‘helpful to the
public record to have an applicant name
the authorship, what is being registered,
what is being disclaimed, and other
such pertinent information.’’ 50
The Office agrees that authorship
descriptions provide pertinent
information concerning registered
works, and does not intend a complete
removal of the Author Created section.
Rather, the Office will request that the
OCIO explore two complementary
methods to obtain more complete and
specific descriptions of works. First, the
Office will request exploration of using
tiers of descriptions that permit the
applicant to gradually narrow the
identification of their work using a more
expanded decision tree format. Under
this approach, the system would allow
applicants to identify the work
submitted for registration by using
general and specific pre-populated
descriptions, as well as a free-form
space allowing applicants to provide
more descriptive, non-legal information.
General descriptions would include the
categories of authorship set forth in
section 102 of the Copyright Act, while
specific descriptions could include
particular types of works within those
categories—for example, ‘‘novel,’’
‘‘poem,’’ ‘‘article’’ or ‘‘podcast.’’ After
testing the feasibility of this approach,
the Office will provide guidance
regarding whether this method is
preferable to the current format.
Second, and potentially additive of
the first approach, the Office will
request that the OCIO investigate
developing a table of crowdsourced
descriptions, using as a model the
USPTO’s Trademark Identification
Manual, which provides users with
acceptable identifications of goods and
services for use in trademark
applications.51 This option would allow
examiners to curate acceptable
descriptions encountered through the
examination process to add to the
database, and for an applicant to rely
upon this list for guidance in describing
their work. This would allow the Office
to consider and adopt industry-specific
or specialized descriptors for
applications on a going-forward basis.
For paper applications, the Office will
permit the examiner to provide a
description of the work submitted for
registration where no description is
provided by the applicant. Although
commenters were not supportive of
examiners providing work descriptions,
arguing that it would ‘‘likely increase
the workload of examiners and could
have the effect of lengthening
registration times and increasing
costs,’’ 52 on average, paper applications
comprise only 4% of all applications
that the Office receives.53 A common
error that the Office encounters is a
blank authorship section. Allowing
examiners to provide this information
would improve efficiency by reducing
the correspondence required to obtain
omitted authorship statements, which,
as the Office has noted, ‘‘imposes
significant burdens on the Office’s
limited resources, and has had an
adverse effect on the [pendency of]
examination of claims submitted on
electronic forms.’’ 54
(2) Derivative Works
For a compilation or derivative work,
the Copyright Act requires copyright
registration applicants to identify ‘‘any
preexisting work or works that it is
based on or incorporates’’ and to
provide ‘‘a brief, general statement of
the additional material covered by the
copyright claim being registered.’’ 55
Generally, the Office attempts to obtain
this information in two steps. First, the
applicant must ‘‘identify the new
authorship that the applicant intends to
register’’ by checking one or more boxes
that appear under the heading ‘‘Author
Created’’ in the online application that
describe the new material the applicant
intends to register, or by providing a
descriptive statement in the ‘‘Nature of
Authorship’’ space on the paper
application.56 Second, if the derivative
work contains an appreciable amount of
preexisting material that was previously
published, previously registered, in the
public domain, or owned by a third
party, the applicant must identify that
material by checking one or more boxes
in the ‘‘Material Excluded’’ field of the
online application or by providing a
brief statement in the corresponding
section of the paper application.57 This
52 NMPA
48 83
FR at 52339–40.
49 See, e.g., AIPLA Comments, at 3–4; Authors
Guild, Inc. (‘‘Authors Guild’’) Comments, at 3 (Jan.
15, 2019).
50 AAP Comments, at 5.
51 See USPTO, Trademark ID Manual, https://
idm-tmng.uspto.gov/id-master-list-public.html.
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Comments, at 11.
Copyright Office, Registration Processing
Times, https://www.copyright.gov/registration/
docs/processing-times-faqs.pdf.
54 83 FR at 52338.
55 17 U.S.C. 409(9).
56 Compendium (Third) sec. 618.5.
57 Id.
53 U.S.
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method can lead to gaps in the public
record because it ‘‘encourage[s]
applicants to identify individual
elements of the work that should be
excluded from the claim,’’ but it does
not require applicants to identify the
preexisting work itself.58 Further, in the
Office’s experience, the checkboxes
provided on the application may limit
applicants’ ability to fully describe the
nature of their claims, leading to errors
in identifying new or preexisting
material. For example, using the
checkboxes, applicants often mark the
‘‘Material Included’’ as ‘‘text’’ and the
‘‘Material Excluded’’ also as ‘‘text.’’
These descriptions do not add any
meaningful information to users of the
public record.
To avoid this result, the 2018 NOI
proposed requiring applicants to
identify explicitly whether a work
submitted for registration is a derivative
work. If the work is identified as
derivative, applicants would be directed
to identify, in their own words, any
elements that should be excluded from
the claim. And, assuming that the
applicant intends to register all
copyrightable aspects of the work that
have not been expressly disclaimed, the
applicant would not be required to
identify the new material that should be
‘‘included’’ in the claim.59
While most commenters
acknowledged that it would benefit the
public record to require applicants to
explicitly identify derivative works
submitted for registration,60 some were
concerned that such a requirement
would cause confusion. For example,
the Copyright Alliance had ‘‘concerns
that novice applicants might be
confused about how to answer such a
question,’’ believing that it ‘‘would
require an understanding of the nuance
between ‘transformation’ as it is used in
fair use, and ‘transform’ as it is used to
define a derivative work.’’ 61 GAG
likewise noted that ‘‘novice users (and
even experience[d] users) are often
tripped up in interpreting whether a
work is derivative.’’ 62 Instead of asking
whether a work is a derivative work,
commenters argued that the Office
58 83
FR at 52341.
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59 Id.
60 See, e.g., AIPLA Comments, at 4 (‘‘AIPLA
believes that applicants should be required to
identify whether the work submitted for registration
is a derivative work’’); AMI Comments, at 6 (‘‘The
AMI would not object to asking applicants to
affirmatively state whether a work submitted is
derivative provid[ed] the application form makes it
crystal clear as to what constitutes a derivative
work.’’); NYIPLA Comments, at 3 (‘‘It is often
helpful to know whether a registered work is a
derivative work’’).
61 Copyright Alliance Comments, at 17.
62 GAG Comments, at 7.
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should ask ‘‘whether preexisting works
have been used, and if yes, what those
works are.’’ 63 Some commenters also
expressed concern that eliminating the
requirement to identify the new material
that should be included in the claim
would ‘‘wreak havoc with the Copyright
Office’s objective to produce as accurate
a public record as possible.’’ 64
Others supported this proposed
approach. AMI opined that eliminating
‘‘cumbersome checkboxes’’ and
allowing applicants ‘‘to more easily
explain in their own words the elements
that are pre-existing versus the ‘new
material to be included’ ’’ would
simplify the registration process for
such works.65 AIPLA agreed that
‘‘asking the applicant to identify the
new authorship is unnecessary . . . and
that the Office should assume that the
applicant intends to register all
copyrightable aspects of the work.’’ 66
After reviewing the comments, the
Office continues to believe that the
current identification process should be
simplified, but agrees that use of the
term ‘‘derivative work’’ may cause
confusion. Instead, the Office will
provide a business requirement that the
revised electronic application ask
applicants, in plain language, about the
facts relating to the authorship of the
work (e.g., Is the work based on one or
more preexisting works? Does the work
incorporate any preexisting work?). The
Office will request that the system allow
applicants to identify any elements that
should be excluded from the claim
using their own words, rather than a set
of predetermined checkboxes. This
approach is intended to streamline the
process by which applicants can
disclaim preexisting material.
(3) Simplifying the Transfer Statement
An application for registration must
identify the copyright claimant.67 The
‘‘claimant’’ is either the author(s) of the
63 Id.; see American Bar Association Section of
Intellectual Property Law (‘‘ABA–IPL’’) Comments,
at 5 (Jan. 9, 2019) (‘‘The Section suggests that a
simpler process for soliciting factual information
about preexisting materials would be to include
questions requiring ‘yes/no’ responses’’).
64 AAP Comments, at 6.
65 AMI Comments, at 5 (citation omitted).
66 AIPLA Comments, at 4; see also New Media
Rights (‘‘NMR’’) Comments, at 17 (Jan. 15, 2019) (‘‘If
the user disclaims content, presumably the rest of
the protectable audiovisual work is original content
created by the author, so the ‘New Material
Included’ category does not seem necessary or
relevant unless the work being registered is a new
edition of a previously registered work (which is a
very specific subset of content).’’); AAP Comments,
at 5 (‘‘AAP members are in favor of asking
applicants to explicitly identify whether a work
submitted for registration is a derivative work and
to identify, in their own words, any elements that
should be excluded from the claim.’’).
67 17 U.S.C. 409(1).
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work submitted for registration,68 or an
individual or organization that owns all
of the rights under copyright.69 To
register a claim of copyright, ‘‘if the
copyright claimant is not the author,’’
the copyright registration application
must include ‘‘a brief statement of how
the claimant obtained ownership of the
copyright.’’ 70 This ‘‘brief statement’’ is
termed a transfer statement. Further, the
Copyright Act specifies that copyright
may be transferred (1) ‘‘by any means of
conveyance,’’ (2) ‘‘by will or . . . by the
applicable laws of intestate succession,’’
or (3) ‘‘by operation of law,’’ and so the
transfer statement must fit within these
statutory guidelines.71
As the 2018 NOI explained, the
current online registration application
allows applicants to provide a transfer
statement by selecting one of three
options in a drop-down menu marked
‘‘Transfer Statement.’’ The three options
are ‘‘By written agreement,’’ ‘‘By
inheritance,’’ and ‘‘Other.’’ The
Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office
Practices provides that ‘‘[i]f the claimant
obtained the copyright through an
assignment, contract, or other written
agreement, the applicant should select
‘By written agreement.’ ’’ 72 And ‘‘[i]f the
claimant obtained the copyright through
a will, bequest, or other form of
inheritance, the applicant should select
‘By inheritance.’ ’’ 73 The applicant may
select ‘‘Other’’ and provide a more
specific transfer statement in a blank
space marked ‘‘Transfer Statement
Other’’ if ‘‘By written agreement’’ or ‘‘By
inheritance’’ do not fully describe the
transfer.
In the 2018 NOI, the Office proposed
eliminating the ‘‘Other’’ option both to
avoid confusion among applicants and
to better align the process with the
statutory text. Applicants often provide
conflicting information when they select
the ‘‘Other’’ option, which requires
examiners to expend time to correspond
with applicants to correct the
application and delays the resolution of
claims. Because the methods of transfer
are limited by section 201, practically
68 Id. at 201(a) (‘‘Copyright in a work protected
under this title vests initially in the author or
authors of the work. The authors of a joint work are
coowners of copyright in the work.’’).
69 Id. at 201(d)(1) (‘‘The ownership of a copyright
may be transferred in whole or in part by any means
of conveyance or by operation of law, and may be
bequeathed by will or pass as personal property by
the applicable laws of intestate succession.’’); 37
CFR 202.3(a)(3) (defining claimant as the author of
a work or the person or organization that has
obtained all rights under copyright initially
belonging to the author).
70 17 U.S.C. 409(5).
71 Id. at 201(d)(1).
72 Compendium (Third) sec. 620.9(A).
73 Id.
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speaking, the only correct statement that
can be provided in the ‘‘Other’’ space is
a transfer occurring ‘‘by operation of
law,’’ a legal concept referring to rights
that arise under specific contingencies
such as by court-ordered or bankruptcyrelated transfers, certain forms of
acquisitions such as stock sales, or
explicit agreements providing for joint
ownership with rights of survivorship.74
The Office accordingly proposed to
replace the ‘‘Other’’ option with ‘‘By
operation of law.’’ 75
Most commenters supported the
Office’s proposal, agreeing that it would
‘‘simplify and clarify the process for
completing transfer statements.’’ 76
Others, however, expressed concern
about the proposed change. For
example, the Authors Guild argued that
the ‘‘means of acquiring ownership
other than by written transfer or
inheritance should be spelled out in a
dropdown menu in plain English and
explained’’ because ‘‘ ‘By operation of
law’ is a broad and legal term that nonlawyers won’t necessarily
understand.’’ 77 AAP opposed removing
the ‘‘Transfer Statement Other’’ field,
recommending ‘‘a flexible and open
format to accommodate sufficient
explanation in cases of complicated
transfer statements’’ to support a
‘‘robust and useful public record.’’ 78
As several commenters pointed out,
copyright transfer remains a confusing
area of law for many applicants.79 While
it might at first seem that giving
applicants more space to describe their
particular transfer scenario would
enhance the public record, the Office’s
experience indicates that an open
format text box can give rise to
inconsistent information, while
increasing registration processing time
due to the need for correspondence.
Therefore, the Office tentatively
concludes it would be optimal to
eliminate the ‘‘Other’’ field and restrict
74 See David Nimmer & Melville Nimmer, 3
Nimmer on Copyright sec. 10.03(A)(6) (2019).
75 83 FR at 52341.
76 NYIPLA Comments, at 3; see also AMI
Comments, at 6 (‘‘The AMI supports simplification
of transfer statements.’’); International Trademark
Association (‘‘INTA’’) Comments, at 7 (Jan. 10,
2019) (‘‘[S]ince Copyright Act Section 201(d)(1)
provides for transfer of an author’s interest only by
written agreement, inheritance, or operation of law,
limiting the transfer statement to these three
categories is advisable.’’); MPAA Comments, at 9
(‘‘The only options that should be available to
registrants in describing a transfer of ownership are
those mentioned in 17 U.S.C. 201: ‘by written
agreement,’ ‘by inheritance,’ or ‘by operation of
law.’ There is no statutory justification for the
‘Other’ option, which should be eliminated.’’).
77 Authors Guild Comments, at 4.
78 AAP Comments, at 6.
79 See Authors Guild Comments, at 4; Copyright
Alliance Comments, at 17; GAG Comments, at 7;
INTA Comments, at 7.
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the available fields to ‘‘By written
agreement,’’ ‘‘By inheritance,’’ and ‘‘By
operation of law’’ to improve efficiency.
Rather than requiring applicants to
describe the transfer in their own words,
the Office intends to provide guidance,
such as information icons or other inapplication assistance, to provide a clear
definition of each transfer statement
option for applicants, including, in
particular, to explain what instances
may constitute a transfer ‘‘by operation
of law.’’
The Office is also exploring the value
of providing a space for applicants to
add any recordation document numbers
that support the transfer statement.
While a copy of an agreement,
conveyance, or other legal instrument is
not an acceptable substitute for a
transfer statement,80 if such an
instrument has been recorded with the
Office, the relevant recordation
information may be valuable to the
registration record. Should this option
prove feasible, the Office will provide
in-application guidance on relevant
document recordation topics.
(4) In-Process Corrections
The current online registration system
does not permit applicants to make
manual corrections once an application
is submitted to the Office. The applicant
must contact the Public Information
Office to ask the Office to make any
necessary corrections. For the new ECS,
the Office proposed removing this
limitation and permitting applicants to
make changes to pending applications at
any point before an examiner opens the
application for review.81
All commenters supported this
proposal,82 but several requested that
the ECS warn applicants when an
amendment would change a work’s
Effective Date of Registration.83
ImageRights International, Inc.
(‘‘ImageRights’’) recommended that the
system ‘‘present a schedule of what
80 Compendium
(Third) sec. 620.10(A).
FR at 52341.
82 See, e.g., AIPLA Comments, at 5 (‘‘AIPLA
supports permitting applicants to make edits to
pending applications in most circumstances.’’);
AAP Comments, at 6 (‘‘AAP members generally
support the proposal of allowing applicants to make
in-process edits to open cases prior to the
examination of application materials.’’).
83 AAP Comments, at 6 (‘‘We trust the Office
would establish clear parameters and practices as
to when such corrections would trigger a change in
the effective date of registration.’’); Copyright
Alliance Comments, at 18 (‘‘The Office should
permit applicants to make in-process edits to open
cases at any point prior to the examination of the
application materials, provided that the Office
clearly warns applicants prior to making changes
that a modification could alter the effective date
depending on the type of change and explains the
types of changes that would result in change in the
effective date.’’).
81 83
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12709
types of changes can be made without
altering the Effective Date of
Registration and which changes would
change the Effective Date.’’ 84
In general, to establish an Effective
Date of Registration, the Office must
receive an acceptable application, a
complete deposit copy, and the
appropriate filing fee.85 The Effective
Date of Registration is the date the
Office receives all three of these
elements, but ‘‘[w]here the three
necessary elements are received at
different times the date of receipt of the
last of them is controlling.’’ 86 The
Compendium sets forth the minimum
requirements for an acceptable
application, deposit copy, and filing
fee.87 In consideration of the comments,
the Office envisions that the new ECS
will incorporate these current rules to
warn applicants when an amendment
would alter the Effective Date of
Registration.
(5) Application Programming Interfaces
(‘‘APIs’’)
A copyright system of the twenty-first
century demands flexibility, agility, and
adaptability to technological
advancements. The Office believes that
the use of APIs—interfaces that permit
communication between two systems or
software programs—could improve the
registration system by enabling
programs used in the process of creating
works to submit copyright registration
applications or extract data from the
online public record. To explore
possible uses of this technology in the
new ECS, the Office invited comment
on how it could use APIs to integrate
external data into the registration
system or allow parties to export
internal data from the Office’s registry.
The Office also inquired about relevant
design considerations, such as
establishing a trusted provider
framework to minimize spam
submissions and deter predatory
behavior.88 Commenters generally
agreed that using APIs would benefit
registration applicants and users of the
online public record,89 although some
84 ImageRights
Comments, at 6 (Jan. 15, 2019).
(Third) sec. 625.
86 H.R. Rep. No. 94–1476, at 157 (1976), reprinted
in 1976 U.S.C.C.A.N. 5659, 5773.
87 Compendium (Third) sec. 625.
88 83 FR at 52342–43.
89 Artists Rights Society Comments, at 4 (Jan. 10,
2019) (‘‘ARS . . . would welcome the opportunity
to develop in cooperation with the Office an API
that would be tailored to the needs of ARS members
so that when members sign up with ARS . . . they
also might be able to complete an electronic
registration form.’’); CVA Comments, at 27–28
(encouraging the Office ‘‘to develop robust
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that will
85 Compendium
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commenters urged the Office to provide
adequate safeguards to protect the
security of the data and to guard against
abuses by bad actors.90 With stakeholder
support, the Office will continue to
explore and clarify its business needs
related to the use of APIs for two
purposes: (1) Ingesting data into the
Office online registration system, and
(2) extracting information from the
online public record. Of course, any
new functionality must provide
appropriate security for all relevant
data. The Office will continue to
communicate this need to the OCIO.
Initially, the Office will prioritize
investigation of ways to allow for the
transmission of data between the
registration system and the database of
musical works information that will be
administered by the Mechanical
Licensing Collective (‘‘MLC’’) pursuant
to the Orrin G. Hatch–Bob Goodlatte
Music Modernization Act.91 The MLC
database will contain information
relating to musical works (and shares of
such works) and, to the extent known,
the identity and location of the
copyright owners of such works and the
sound recordings in which the musical
works are embodied.92 To reduce the
incidence of unmatched works, where
the copyright owner has not been
identified or located, the MLC will
operate a claiming process by which
musical work copyright owners may
identify their ownership interests in a
musical work underlying a specific
sound recording, to receive accrued
royalties for the usage of that musical
work.93
By law, the Copyright Office may
access the database in a bulk, machinereadable format, although the Office
may not treat the database or any of its
information therein as a Government
record.94 As some have suggested,95
allow third-party image management software to
interface directly with the Copyright Office’s
registration system’’); Copyright Alliance
Comments, at 21 (expressing support for ‘‘allowing
third-parties to interoperate with the Office’s API in
a way that would integrate registration into a
creator’s workflow to streamline and simplify the
registration process’’); GAG Comments, at 8
(expressing support for the ‘‘integration of APIs into
the registration system so that registration becomes
part of a creator’s workflow’’).
90 See, e.g., Copyright Alliance Comments, at 23
(urging the Office to ‘‘create terms of service for
access to its API,’’ which would allow the Office ‘‘to
block access . . . [by] third parties who abuse the
APIs’’ though spam submissions or predatory
behavior); PPA Comments, at 16 (stating that the
Office must ensure that ‘‘the process is secure and
able to handle the influx of data’’).
91 Public Law 115–264, 132 Stat. 3676 (2018).
92 17 U.S.C. 115(d)(3)(C).
93 Id. at 115(d)(3)(I), (J)(iii); see id. at 115(e)(35).
94 Id. at 115(d)(3)(E)(v).
95 David C. Lowery, Simplifying Registration and
Costs for MLC, The Trichordist (Nov. 6, 2019),
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providing a method of access between
the copyright and MLC registration
systems could permit a copyright owner
to verify or update ownership
information with respect to musical
works listed in the MLC database
alongside the process of completing a
copyright registration application for
that work, or vice versa. The Office has
concluded that the MLC database
represents an appropriate starting point
for API development. While the Office
will prioritize this aspect, the Office
will also work with the OCIO to explore
additional avenues to facilitate the
ingestion and exportation of data
through APIs, while ensuring the
integrity of registration records and
safeguarding against abuses.
(C) Public Record: How Users Engage
and Manage Copyright Office Records
(1) The Online Registration Record
The Copyright Act charges the
Copyright Office with ensuring ‘‘that
records of deposits, registrations,
recordations, and other actions taken
under this title are maintained’’ and are
‘‘open to public inspection.’’ 96 The
2018 NOI proposed to expand the
online public record to include records
of pending applications, refusals,
closures, appeals, and correspondence
for completed claims.
This proposal received significant
support from many commenters. For
example, the American Association of
Law Libraries (‘‘AALL’’) supported
‘‘publishing refused registration
application records, full versions of
correspondence records, and associated
appeal records in the online public
record because we believe it would help
the public better understand the
originality requirement in copyright law
and assist those who wish to register a
claim to a copyright understand the
contours of what ‘constitute[s]
copyrightable subject matter.’ ’’ 97
Similarly, AIPLA noted that ‘‘the need
for full information regarding an
application and registration is often
crucial for litigation, licensing, and
corporate diligence, among other
circumstances.’’ 98
Some commenters, however,
expressed concern that records of
correspondence may expose personally
identifiable information or informal
https://thetrichordist.com/2019/11/06/simplifyregistration-and-costs-for-mlc/ (‘‘It seems like a
simple solution for the Copyright Office to
harmonize [the online registration system and the
MLC database] to . . . have a check box to allow
you to sign up with the MLC.’’).
96 17 U.S.C. 705.
97 AALL Comments, at 1 (Jan. 14, 2019) (citing 17
U.S.C. 410(b)).
98 AIPLA Comments, at 6.
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communications that applicants may
not wish to make public. Explaining
that ‘‘[c]orrespondence between
applicants and the Office is often
informal,’’ AAP argued that including
such materials ‘‘would not be
appropriate [or] useful for the Public
Record and could be misused by
persons who have no claim to the work
in question.’’ 99 Other commenters
argued that the public record should be
limited to records of what has been
registered by the Copyright Office.100
NMPA, for example, contended that
‘‘[o]nly a subset of copyrights would
benefit from the inclusion of . . .
additional information in the Online
Public Record’’ and that ‘‘[i]ncluding
large amounts of administrative
information concerning a registration
would likely slow the system down and
be an inefficient use of the Office’s
resources.’’ 101
Current law and regulations require
the Office to make available for public
inspection any ‘‘[o]fficial
correspondence, including preliminary
applications, between copyright
claimants or their agents and the
Copyright Office, and directly relating to
a completed registration, a recorded
document, a rejected application for
registration, or a document for which
recordation was refused.’’ 102 Further,
the current registration application
displays a privacy notice stating that the
information collected for registration
‘‘will appear in the Office’s online
catalog.’’ 103 Given that registration
records are already available for public
inspection and copying,104 the Office
does not see a persuasive basis for
categorically excluding them from
online availability, although the Office
will approach historical materials
sensitively to address any potential
notice or privacy considerations.
99 AAP
Comments, at 7.
e.g., RIAA Comments, at 8 (‘‘The online
public record should support its primary purpose
to notify the public of which works have been
registered, and not be appended in a manner that
detracts or dilutes from this important function.’’).
101 NMPA Comments, at 17–18.
102 37 CFR 201.2(c)(1); see also 17 U.S.C. 705.
103 U.S. Copyright Office, eCO Registration
System Standard Application, https://
eco.copyright.gov/ (‘‘Privacy Act Notice: Sections
408–410 of title 17 of the United States Code
authorize the Copyright Office to collect the
personally identifying information requested on
this form in order to process the application for
copyright registration. By providing this
information you are agreeing to routine uses of the
information that include publication to give legal
notice of your copyright claim as required by 17
U.S.C. 705. It will appear in the Office’s online
catalog. If you do not provide the information
requested, registration may be refused or delayed,
and you may not be entitled to certain relief,
remedies, and benefits under the copyright law.’’).
104 Compendium (Third) sec. 2407.1(B)(1).
100 See,
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Expanding the online public record to
include these materials would advance
the Office’s goal to ‘‘[e]xpand access to
Copyright Office records’’ and
‘‘[e]nhance services’’ to make it ‘‘easier
and more convenient for users to
transact business with the Copyright
Office.’’ 105 As such, on a prospective
basis, the Office will request that the
ECS include records of pending
applications, refusals, closures, appeals,
and correspondence for completed
claims in the new online public record.
The Office’s PII removal rule will
remain in place to provide for removal
of extraneous PII from the public record
upon request.106
Similarly, the Office will work with
the OCIO to make digital copies of
registration certificates available in the
online public record.
(2) Linking Registration and Recordation
Records
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Arising out of historical practice,
registration and recordation records are
currently maintained as discrete data
sets. Because these records are not
linked, it can be difficult to identify
chain-of-title information for particular
works contained in the Office’s records.
All commenters supported the Office’s
proposal to link registration and
recordation records, so that information
about registered claims, recorded
transfers, and/or other chain of title
information can be viewed together to
facilitate access to information about
copyrighted works, including updated
ownership information.107
Because the registration and
recordation processes are voluntary,
however, commenters also highlighted
some areas of caution, which the Office
itself is taking into account when
developing requirements for the new
ECS. For example, RIAA noted that
105 U.S. Copyright Office, Strategic Plan 2019–
2023, Copyright: The Engine of Free Expression 13
(2019), https://www.copyright.gov/reports/strategicplan/USCO-strategic2019-2023.pdf.
106 See 37 CFR 201.2(f).
107 AALL Comments, at 3 (noting that the
proposal ‘‘would assist users who are attempting to
obtain permission to use a work with accurately
identifying and contacting the current copyright
owner’’); ABA–IPL Comments, at 7 (‘‘The Section
strongly supports connecting registration and
recordation records.’’); Authors Alliance Comments,
at 5 (Jan. 15, 2019) (noting that the proposal would
‘‘increase[] the likelihood that users will be able to
locate current and accurate contact information for
copyright holders, better facilitating licensing and
permissions requests’’); INTA Comments, at 15
(expressing support for ‘‘provid[ing] chain of title
information’’); NMPA Comments, at 18 (‘‘The
registration and recordation systems should be fully
integrated and should be part of the same
database.’’); Nanette Petruzzelli Comments, at 5
(Jan. 14, 2019) (supporting the proposal so that
‘‘public inquiry about the current copyright status
of a work can be found in one record/file’’).
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while linking records would be useful,
it could ‘‘create confusion where the
records are incomplete or the chain of
title is unclear.’’ 108 RIAA also expressed
concern about ‘‘what legal presumptions
may be made based on the chain of title
in a recordation record where there is
no obligation for a subsequent rights
holder to file a transfer or security
interest with the Office.’’ 109 The MPAA
cautioned that the Office should not
‘‘itself engage in chain-of-title
analysis.’’ 110
The Copyright Office appreciates the
need for the ECS to clearly
communicate the limitations of the
public record to users of the system.
Currently, the Office warns that while
‘‘[s]earches of the Copyright Office
catalogs and records are useful in
helping to determine the copyright
status of a work . . . they cannot be
regarded as conclusive in all cases.’’ 111
The Office will continue to explore
ways to minimize confusion on the part
of users. For example, the Office may
request that the ECS begin by linking
only future registration and recordation
records.
Second, commenters discussed how
the Office should display assignment
information and documentation within
public registration records. The ABA–
IPL suggested that the USPTO’s system,
which consists of an ‘‘Assignment
Abstract of Title’’ linked to the database
entry for a mark identified in a search,
could be a model for the Copyright
Office’s system.112 The NYIPLA
similarly suggested that ‘‘the Trademark
Office offers a good model in that the
application/registration data is directly
linked to the chain of title
information.’’ 113 The Office found these
comments helpful and hopes to work
with the OCIO to explore the specific
manner of display for the new online
public record system.
(3) Unified Case Number
The Office currently administers and
tracks separate numbers for
applications, correspondence, and
registrations, which creates challenges
for the Office and users. To streamline
identification methods, the 2018 NOI
proposed to unify the Office’s
identification numbers to create a clear
108 RIAA
Comments, at 8.
Comments, at 8.
110 MPAA Comments, at 13.
111 U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 22: How to
Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work 3 (Feb.
2013), https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ22.pdf;
see also U.S. Copyright Office, Request a Search
Estimate, https://www.copyright.gov/forms/search_
estimate.html.
112 ABA–IPL Comments, at 7.
113 NYIPLA Comments, at 5.
109 RIAA
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12711
relationship between an application for
registration, any correspondence, and
any associated request for
reconsideration.114 There was a general
consensus among commenters in
support of the Office’s proposal.115
Accordingly, for future applications,
the Office would like the system to
adopt one number for any pending
application and registration record
completed from that application. The
Office envisions that the number
assigned to an application (the ‘‘case
number’’) and the registration number
will have an identical base, but the
registration number will be
distinguished by a prefix that indicates
the administrative class or type of
registration. For example, case number
12345678 for a performing arts work
would become PA12345678, if
registered. To further simplify the
registration process, the Office will also
retire correspondence identification
numbers.
(D) Digital Deposits
In the 2018 NOI, the Office requested
comment on whether applicants should
be permitted to submit electronic
deposit copies, phonorecords, or
identifying materials, rather than
physical copies or phonorecords, unless
the Office requests a physical copy.116
While commenters expressed general
support for providing greater flexibility
in complying with deposit
requirements, the comments raised a
number of concerns. The Library of
Congress’s Library Services unit
expressed concern over the potential
effect of such a change on Library
collections. Noting that ‘‘[t]he Library
depends on the continuing flow of items
acquired via Copyright deposit to help
build its collection,’’ it noted that
‘‘implementation of this strategy would
require that a duplicative process be
established to obtain deposit copies for
the Library’s collection.’’ 117
Subsequently, in response to a question
raised by the Senate Judiciary’s IP
Subcommittee, the Librarian of Congress
noted that ‘‘a change to a default digital
deposit requirement would critically
affect our ability to serve some of our
114 83
FR at 52344.
generally AIPLA Comments, at 7 (‘‘AIPLA
strongly supports this proposal.’’); AAP Comments,
at 8 (‘‘AAP members are in favor of unified case
numbers to track and identify a work or group of
works through the registration and appeals
process’’); PPA Comments, at 16 (‘‘PPA supports a
single case number which remains with the
application through the registration process and
after the registration is issued. This will help with
tracking and consistency.’’).
116 83 FR at 52344–45.
117 Library of Congress Library Services
Comments, at 1–2 (Jan. 15, 2019).
115 See
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largest user groups, either by not
meeting their preferences or by denying
service altogether.’’ 118
Other commenters representing
copyright owner interests raised
potential security concerns. For
example, the Copyright Alliance
pointed to the possibility of cyberattacks
resulting in unauthorized access to
deposit copies.119 AAP stated that
‘‘[p]ublishers would welcome a
registration deposit regime that is less
burdensome, but only if it is operated in
a wholly secure IT system and kept
wholly separate from the collections of
the Library and its access or interlibrary
lending or surplus books policies.’’ 120
In its view, such changes are
‘‘premature and will remain so until the
Copyright Office is permitted and able
to develop the necessary IT systems and
security.’’ 121
The Copyright Office is committed to
pursuing any updates to the registration
deposit system in a reasonable and
conscientious manner. At the same
time, due to the wide variety of
expressive works that can be registered,
spanning physical and digital formats,
from individual to large corporate
authors, the ECS must be designed in a
manner to accommodate submission of
both physical and electronic
deposits.122 Under the current
framework, the Office has recently
noted that ‘‘[a]ny future expansion of
electronic deposits to additional
categories of works will require careful
consideration of several factors,
including the Library’s collection needs,
technological capabilities, and security
and access issues.’’ 123 Meanwhile, the
Office notes that these issues may
overlap with ongoing legislative
discussion.124 The Office therefore has
118 Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress,
Responses to Questions for the Record, Subcomm.
on Intell. Prop. of the S. Comm. on the Judiciary
at 3–4 (Jan. 7, 2020), https://
www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/
Hayden%20Responses%20to%20QFRs.pdf.
119 Copyright Alliance Comments, at 25.
120 AAP Comments, at 2.
121 Id. at 3.
122 The current statutory default instructs owners
to submit a deposit of a complete copy of the work
and, for works published in the U.S., the best
edition of that work (unless regulations permit the
deposit of alternate identifying material). 17 U.S.C.
407, 408; 83 FR at 52344. But the statute does not
compel authors or publishers to create a special
copy for the purpose of copyright registration or to
fulfill the separate obligation under section 407. See
Mandatory Deposit of Electronic-Only Books, 83 FR
16269, 16274 (notice of proposed rulemaking).
123 Jody Harry, Chief Financial Officer, U.S.
Copyright Office, Responses to Questions for the
Record, Subcomm. on Intell. Prop. of the S. Comm.
on the Judiciary at 13 (Dec. 17, 2019), https://
www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/
Harry%20Responses%20to%20QFRs.pdf.
124 Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress,
Responses to Questions for the Record, Subcomm.
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concluded that consideration of changes
to the deposit requirements are beyond
the scope of this current notice. As
noted, however, the Office and the
Library will work collaboratively to
develop alternative deposit options
‘‘that appropriately balance security
with ease of use. These kinds of
important issues will be addressed
using transparent processes that invite
public comment and participation.’’ 125
II. Additional Subjects of Inquiry
In addition to the foregoing practice
changes, the Office is continuing to
consider additional issues raised in the
2018 NOI and now seeks further
comment on the following topics.
(A) The Rights and Permissions Field
Presently, at the conclusion of an
online registration application, the
applicant is asked to provide Rights and
Permissions information, which may
include ‘‘the name, address, and other
contact information for the person and/
or organization that should be contacted
for permission to use the work.’’ 126
Currently, applicants may provide only
one name and address. This information
appears in the online public record for
the work to facilitate licensing and
similar transactions.127 Once a
certificate of registration is issued,
interested parties may update the Rights
and Permissions information by either
(1) requesting that the Office remove
certain personally identifiable
information from the online public
record and replace it with substitute
information,128 or (2) submitting an
application for a supplementary
registration.129
To achieve a more flexible
amendment process, the 2018 NOI
proposed allowing users to update
Rights and Permissions information, as
necessary, without having to submit a
formal written removal request and fee
and without having to seek a
supplementary registration.130 The
on Intell. Prop. of the S. Comm. on the Judiciary
at 3 (Jan. 7, 2020), https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/
imo/media/doc/
Hayden%20Responses%20to%20QFRs.pdf
(responding to question about draft legislation on
the deposit requirement).
125 Id.; see also id. at 4 (‘‘The Library would like
to work closely with the Copyright Office to update
the best edition statement on a consistent and
regular basis.’’).
126 Compendium (Third) sec. 622.1. There is no
corresponding space for providing Rights and
Permissions information in a paper application.
127 Id.
128 37 CFR 201.2(e)(1); Compendium (Third) sec.
622.1. See generally Removal of Personally
Identifiable Information from Registration Records,
82 FR 9004 (Feb. 2, 2017) (final rule).
129 37 CFR 202.6(d), (e); Compendium (Third) sec.
1802.
130 83 FR at 52341–42.
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overwhelming majority of commenters
supported this proposal.131 AALL noted
that it would ‘‘better ensure that the
information remains up-to-date, thereby
reducing the risk of a work becoming an
orphan work, encouraging proper
attribution by others, and facilitating
users [in] properly obtaining permission
or a license to use a work.’’ 132 Authors
Alliance similarly noted that ‘‘the costs
associated with updating the Rights and
Permissions field discourages users
from updating contact information,
leading to inaccurate records and
contributing to the orphan works
problem.’’ 133
While there was general support for
this proposed change, several
commenters noted the importance of
implementing a corresponding method
for authenticating or confirming the
identity of registrants, assignees, or their
authorized representatives. RIAA stated
there must be ‘‘robust security and
authentication surrounding the
authorized user’s credentials and access
to the registration database.’’ 134
Likewise, the Copyright Alliance
suggested that ‘‘[t]he ability to make
these changes should be restricted to
accounts belonging to the rights holder
(including a previous rights holder’s
verified successor in interest) or their
agent’’ to protect ‘‘rights holders and
users of the public record from fraud,
misrepresentation, inadvertent mistakes
and unauthorized changes to the record
by third parties.’’ 135
In principle, the Office agrees that the
ECS should be designed to encourage
copyright owners to keep their contact
information up to date, including in
cases of transfer, and also that security
and access controls will be key to
implementing self-service edits.136 The
131 ABA–IPL Comments, at 6 (‘‘[T]he Section
supports allowing registrants to update the Rights
and Permissions information for their works posted
on the public record in a simplified manner’’);
AIPLA Comments, at 5 (‘‘AIPLA supports allowing
authorized users to make changes to this field’’);
Authors Alliance Comments, at 4 (‘‘Authors
Alliance supports the Office’s efforts to build a
registration interface that allows users to update
Rights and Permissions information without having
to submit a supplementary registration together
with the associated fee’’); INTA Comments, at 9
(‘‘INTA strongly supports making the Online Public
Record a more dynamic system by allowing
authorized representatives to update rights and
permission information’’); NMA Comments, at 5
(‘‘The Alliance supports the proposal to allow
authorized users to make changes to the Rights and
Permissions field in a completed registration’’).
132 AALL Comments, at 3.
133 Authors Alliance Comments, at 4.
134 RIAA Comments, at 6.
135 Copyright Alliance Comments, at 19.
136 The option to edit Rights and Permissions
information will not affect the recordation of
documents pertaining to copyright. Rights and
Permissions information is limited to contact
information (e.g., mailing and/or email addresses).
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Office seeks additional stakeholder
feedback on how the ECS might
administer such a service. Specifically,
what eligibility criteria should be
considered in evaluating the parties
seeking to edit Rights and Permissions
information? Should this service be
limited to users with access to the
account through which the original
registration was made, or should those
users be able to consent or transfer
account authorizations associated with
individual registrations? Should this
service be limited to parties named on
the registration certificate and their
authorized agents? The Office also seeks
stakeholder feedback on whether to
expand the Rights and Permissions field
to allow users to provide more than one
name and address. The Office will share
this information with the OCIO to
explore technological feasibility, and
both the Office and the OCIO have
committed to facilitating
communication and outreach with users
of the prospective system.
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(B) Additional Data
The 2018 NOI invited comment on
what additional data could or should be
included in the online registration
record on a voluntary basis in order to
enhance the functionality and value of
the system.137 The 2018 NOI noted that
the current system already allows
applicants to include a number of
unique identifiers, including an
International Standard Book Number
(‘‘ISBN’’), International Standard
Recording Code (‘‘ISRC’’), International
Standard Serial Number (‘‘ISSN’’),
International Standard Audiovisual
Number (‘‘ISAN’’), International
Standard Music Number (‘‘ISMN’’),
International Standard Musical Work
Code (‘‘ISWC’’), International Standard
Text Code (‘‘ISTC’’), or Entertainment
Identifier Registry number (‘‘EIDR’’).138
The 2018 NOI inquired whether the
Office should consider expanding the
number of unique identifiers that may
be included on an application, requiring
inclusion of unique identifiers if they
have been assigned, or establishing a
procedure for adding unique identifiers
to completed registration records,
similar to the proposed procedure for
updating the Rights and Permission
field.139
Commenters were in favor of having
the option to submit additional data as
part of the registration application, as
long as adding such information is not
137 83
FR at 52342.
138 Id.
139 Id.
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made mandatory.140 Commenters were
also in favor of being able to provide
unique identifiers to pending and
completed registration records, on an
optional basis.141 The Office agrees that
any new requests for information should
not be mandatory. Recognizing that
certain standard identifiers may not
always be available at the time of the
registration application, the Office also
appreciates the desire to add identifiers
to the record after submission of a
registration application, provided the
online public record identifies when
such amendments are made to
completed registration records. The
acceptance of post-registration unique
identifiers would seem to potentially
raise eligibility questions similarly
presented with post-registration updates
to the rights and permissions field,
discussed above. Subject to additional
public comment, the Office will work
with the OCIO to explore the best ways
to enable these types of voluntary
submissions in the ECS.
In addition, the Office sought
comment on whether it should allow
applicants to voluntarily upload publicfacing deposit material, such as lowresolution images or sound bites, as part
of the registration application.142 The
option to include this information
would be additive of the existing
registration deposit requirement. Such
public-facing material might assist in
the identification of a work to serve
licensing, or even enforcement,
purposes. Commenters generally were
supportive of this proposal. INTA
opined that ‘‘developing a more robust
Online Public Record through the
uploading of these images and clips will
be beneficial by enhancing recognition
of the work registered and will also aid
in the licensing of those works.’’ 143
NMPA observed that ‘‘[a]llowing
applicants to include small sound bites
of their works in their application could
improve the public record and assist the
public in identifying copyright
owners.’’ 144 Public Knowledge (‘‘PK’’)
and the Association of Real Estate
Photographers (‘‘AREP’’) suggested that
‘‘[i]mplementing reverse image search
capabilities . . . —and linking those
results to rightsholder information—
would prov[ide] significant benefits for
140 See ABA–IPL Comments, at 6; AIPLA
Comments, at 6; AAP Comments, at 7; AMI
Comments, at 7; Copyright Alliance Comments, at
20; Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. Comments, at
2 (Jan. 14, 2019); GAG Comments, at 8; INTA
Comments, at 9; Shaftel & Schmelzer Comments, at
17 (Jan. 11, 2019).
141 See Copyright Alliance Comments, at 20;
INTA Comments, at 9; MPAA Comments, at 10.
142 83 FR at 52342.
143 INTA Comments, at 9–10.
144 NMPA Comments, at 15.
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12713
both users and rightsholders.’’ 145
Noting that ‘‘[t[he technology to search
by images . . . is widely commercially
available,’’ PK and AREP stated that the
ability to ‘‘reverse image search existing
registrations would assist photographers
. . . in protecting their rights
online.’’ 146
Other commenters, however, noted
that there may be complications in
accepting low-resolution or incomplete
deposits. Specifically, RIAA argued that
collecting sound clips ‘‘would create
additional burdens (including, but not
limited to, the need to provide ever
expanding storage resources for clips)
on the Office with, at best, marginal
increased utility.’’ 147 It also expressed
concern that ‘‘the collection and
inclusion of sound clips in the Office’s
registration database could turn the
database into a de facto, on-demand
streaming service that would effectively
compete against commercial services
licensed by our member companies.’’ 148
Still others discussed the availability
of technology to create low-resolution or
incomplete copies. For example,
ImageRights suggested that there would
be ‘‘little point in asking users to
provide’’ low-resolution images and
sound bites because they ‘‘can be
created sufficiently well in an
automated way.’’ 149 GiantSteps Media
Technology Strategies suggested that the
Office use digital finger printing
technology to ‘‘allow registrants to
deposit digital fingerprints of works,
perhaps in addition to low-resolution
images, audio clips, and the like.’’ 150
To more fully explore these issues,
the Office is interested in receiving
additional input on whether and how
the new ECS might be designed to
include the option to deposit lowresolution or incomplete copies of
works for the online public record. Are
there certain available technologies that
should be considered to automate
creation of lower-resolution or
shortened clips works to be made
available to the public for identification
purposes but that would not serve as a
substitute for the work? Should the
Office establish specifications, such as a
15-second limit on sound clips, or a
specific resolution format, with respect
to the acceptance of additional,
voluntarily submitted data, to minimize
interactions with licensing markets?
Should this feature be preliminarily
145 PK
& AREP Comments, at 3 (Jan. 15, 2019).
146 Id.
147 RIAA
Comments, at 6–7.
at 7.
149 ImageRights Comments, at 8.
150 GiantSteps Media Technology Strategies
Comments, at 3 (Jan. 15, 2019).
148 Id.
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explored in a pilot limited to certain
type(s) of works, and if so, which
type(s)?
The Office invites comment on any
additional considerations it should take
into account relating to these topics.
Dated: February 28, 2020.
Regan A. Smith,
General Counsel and Associate Register of
Copyrights.
[FR Doc. 2020–04435 Filed 3–2–20; 8:45 am]
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 3, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12704-12714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04435]
[[Page 12703]]
Vol. 85
Tuesday,
No. 42
March 3, 2020
Part III
Library of Congress
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright Office
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37 CFR Parts 201 and 202
Registration Modernization; Proposed Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 42 / Tuesday, March 3, 2020 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 12704]]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
37 CFR Parts 201 and 202
[Docket No. 2018-9]
Registration Modernization
AGENCY: U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Statement of policy and notification of inquiry.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In conjunction with the development of new technological
infrastructure for the copyright registration system, on October 17,
2018, the U.S. Copyright Office solicited public input regarding
potential regulatory and practice updates to improve the system's
efficiency for both users and the Office. The Office sought and
received public comment on three main areas of proposed reform: The
administration and substance of the application for registration, the
utility of the public record, and the deposit requirements for
registration. After reviewing the comments, the Office is announcing
intended practice updates, to be adopted in conjunction with the
deployment of the new technological system that the Library of Congress
is building for the Office. The Office also seeks further comment on
two proposals to permit post-registration edits to rights and
permissions information, and to permit voluntary submission of
additional deposit information to be included in the public record.
DATES: Written comments must be received no later than 11:59 p.m.
Eastern Time on April 2, 2020.
ADDRESSES: For reasons of government efficiency, the Copyright Office
is using the regulations.gov system for the submission and posting of
public comments in this proceeding. All comments are therefore to be
submitted electronically through regulations.gov. Specific instructions
for submitting comments are available on the Copyright Office website
at https://www.copyright.gov/rulemaking/reg-modernization/. If
electronic submission of comments is not feasible due to lack of access
to a computer and/or the internet, please contact the Office, using the
contact information below, for special instructions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regan A. Smith, General Counsel and
Associate Register of Copyrights, [email protected]; Robert J.
Kasunic, Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Registration
Policy and Practice, [email protected]; Kevin Amer, Deputy General
Counsel, [email protected]; Erik Bertin, Deputy Director of
Registration Policy and Practice, [email protected]; or Jalyce E.
Mangum, Attorney-Advisor, [email protected]. They can be reached by
telephone at 202-707-3000.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A highly functional registration system is
of paramount importance to the Copyright Office as it administers title
17 for the benefit of the nation's thriving copyright ecosystem.\1\
Copyright registration provides valuable benefits to copyright owners,
including providing access to federal court to initiate a lawsuit for
infringement of a U.S. work,\2\ serving as prima facie evidence of the
validity of the copyright and the facts stated in the certificate of
registration,\3\ and enabling copyright owners to seek statutory
damages and attorneys' fees in litigation for works that are timely
registered.\4\ Registration also benefits users and prospective users
of creative works by enabling them to find key facts relating to the
authorship and ownership of such works in the Office's online public
record.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See 17 U.S.C. 701(a) (``All administrative functions and
duties under this title . . . are the responsibility of the Register
of Copyrights as director of the Copyright Office of the Library of
Congress.'').
\2\ 17 U.S.C. 411(a).
\3\ 17 U.S.C. 410(c).
\4\ 17 U.S.C. 412.
\5\ Additional information is available at https://www.copyright.gov/registration/.
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Accordingly, modernizing the technological infrastructure of the
copyright registration system is one of the Office's top priorities.
The Office is working with the Library of Congress's Office of Chief
Information Officer (``OCIO''), which is building an enterprise
copyright system (``ECS'') to improve the Office's provision of
copyright services to the public, including its registration services.
Copyright Office information technology (IT) modernization is being
implemented in accordance with the overall model of IT centralization
at the Library of Congress. Under this model, ``the Copyright Office,
with its expertise of both copyright law and its internal systems,
provides required business features to the OCIO. The OCIO then uses its
expertise to develop technology solutions to support those features for
the Copyright Office.'' \6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Library of Congress Modernization Oversight: Hearing Before
the S. Comm. on Rules and Admin., 116th Cong. 24 (2019) (Statement
of Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To take advantage of forthcoming IT modernization development
efforts and promote an efficient and innovative registration system,
the Office published a notice of inquiry in October 2018 (``2018 NOI'')
inviting public comment on several potential practice and policy
changes to better meet the demands of users of the registration system
in the digital age.\7\ The 2018 NOI previewed technological features
that the Office would like to be incorporated into the ECS, including a
more dynamic application tracking dashboard, an integrated drag-and-
drop submission option for electronic deposits, and an improved
messaging system to improve communication between the Office and
applicants.\8\ The Office also announced an intention to display a
draft version of the registration certificate before final submission
so that applicants can confirm that they have entered the correct
information.\9\ In addition to announcing these intended user features,
the Office posed fifteen questions that fell into three categories of
possible reform: (1) The administration and substance of the
application for registration, (2) the utility of the public record, and
(3) the deposit requirements for registration.\10\
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\7\ Registration Modernization, 83 FR 52336 (Oct. 17, 2018).
\8\ Id. at 52337.
\9\ Id. A similar display feature will be provided in the
forthcoming electronic recordation system pilot.
\10\ Id.
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Commenters expressed broad general support for the proposals set
forth in the 2018 NOI. The Copyright Alliance was ``pleased that the
Office is considering a broad range of legal and policy changes
regarding registration, and seeking input from stakeholders early in
that process.'' \11\ Noting that ``[a] modernized registration system
is key for the healthy functioning of the copyright ecosystem in the
21st century,'' the Association of American Publishers (``AAP'')
expressed support for many of the Office's ``innovative proposals to
make the registration process more efficient, intuitive, and
competitive,'' \12\ and the American Intellectual Property Law
Association (``AIPLA'') specifically praised the proposed updates that
would allow ``user-errors [to] be reduced through
[[Page 12705]]
self-correction and proofing prior to filing.'' \13\
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\11\ Copyright Alliance Comments, at 1-2 (Jan. 15, 2019); see
also, e.g., National Music Publishers' Association (``NMPA'')
Comments, at 3 (Jan. 15, 2019) (``NMPA appreciates the opportunity
to comment on how the Office can design a registration system that
will fit the needs of the modern music industry.''); Recording
Industry Association of America, Inc. (``RIAA'') Comments, at 2
(Jan. 15, 2019) (``RIAA and its members applaud the Copyright Office
. . . for thinking broadly about a variety of steps that could be
taken to modernize the current copyright registration process.'').
Unless otherwise noted, all comments cited refer to comments
submitted in response to the 2018 Notice of Inquiry Regarding
Registration Modernization.
\12\ AAP Comments, at 8 (Jan. 15, 2019).
\13\ AIPLA Comments, at 2 (Jan. 15, 2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other commenters opined that the Office's proposals did not address
all of the shortcomings of the current registration system. For
example, the Coalition of Visual Artists (``CVA'') cautioned the Office
to avoid making incremental improvements when a comprehensive
modernization effort is necessary to make the registration system
easier and more cost effective for authors to use.\14\ The Graphic
Artists Guild (``GAG'') similarly contended that the modernization
effort should not ``proceed in a piecemeal fashion, without substantive
changes to a system that for individual visual artists is broken.''
\15\ It expressed particular concern about registration processing
times, highlighting that ``[t]he processing time for the simplest
online copyright registrations, requiring no communication, averages
six months.'' \16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ CVA Comments, at 2-3 (Jan. 15, 2019).
\15\ GAG Comments, at 2 (Jan. 15, 2019).
\16\ Id. at 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Office takes these comments seriously and is pleased to note
that, separate from the IT modernization process, it already has taken
significant steps toward addressing a number of commenters' concerns.
For example, the Office has made extensive efforts to reduce
registration processing times, particularly in light of the Supreme
Court's 2019 decision in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, which confirmed that Copyright Office action on an
application for registration must be complete before the owner of a
U.S. work can bring an infringement suit.\17\ Since 2018, the average
processing time for claims that are received through the electronic
registration system and do not require correspondence (which make up
seventy-two percent of claims) has been reduced from six months to
three months.\18\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ 139 S. Ct. 881, 888, 892 (2019).
\18\ U.S. Copyright Office, Registration Processing Times,
https://www.copyright.gov/registration/docs/processing-times-faqs.pdf. The data is from April 1 through September 30, 2019.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a second example apart from IT modernization, the Office has
also issued a notice of inquiry requesting written comments on issues
relating to online publication, including whether and how to amend its
registration regulations and other considerations relevant to ensuring
continued thorough assistance to Congress.\19\ This notice seeks to
address recent feedback to the Office suggesting that the statutorily-
drawn distinction between published and unpublished works is, as
Copyright Alliance put it, ``so complex and divergent from an intuitive
and colloquial understanding of the terms that it serves as a barrier
to registration, especially with respect to works that are disseminated
online.'' \20\ The Office will analyze these issues related to online
publication, as well as other potential practice changes,
contemporaneously with, yet separately from, the OCIO's efforts to
upgrade the IT system through establishment of an ECS. While the
Copyright Office remains dedicated to continuously exploring potential
regulatory and/or practice changes through public discussion, the
current Registration Modernization proceeding focuses on the practices
directly relevant to the pending technological upgrades. The Library
has committed to an IT development approach that can meet ``the complex
and unique mission of the Copyright Office today and for the future,''
including ``to accommodate possible future legal responsibilities'' and
to meet ``evolving business needs.'' \21\ To the extent the publication
proceeding, other pending or future rulemakings, result in regulatory
or practice changes that need to be accommodated in the Office's
technology, the Office will communicate those requirements to the OCIO,
but such changes will be considered separately from the umbrella of
``modernization.'' \22\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\19\ See Online Publication, 84 FR 66328 (Dec. 4, 2019).
\20\ 84 FR at 66328 (citing Copyright Alliance Comments, at 5
(Jan. 15, 2019)).
\21\ Letter from Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, and Karyn
A. Temple, Register of Copyrights & Dir., to Hon. Thom Tillis,
United States Senate, 2-3 (Sept. 30, 2019), https://www.copyright.gov/rulemaking/reg-modernization/letter-to-senator-thom-tillis.pdf.
\22\ As one exception; separately, the Office has issued two
interim rules connected to the related IT modernization efforts with
respect to its Recordation program. See Modernizing Copyright
Recordation, 82 FR 52213 (Nov. 13, 2017); 85 FR 3854 (Jan. 23,
2020).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
With respect to IT modernization, the Office is prioritizing public
outreach to gain additional information about the needs and concerns of
users of the registration system. The Office created a dedicated IT
modernization web page to keep stakeholders apprised of the status of
modernization efforts.\23\ In early 2019, the Office launched a
bimonthly webinar series to report on the progress achieved on IT
modernization initiatives and to discuss the overall direction of
modernization.\24\ And the Office continues to meet regularly with
stakeholders and deliver presentations to external audiences to provide
updates on modernization activities. OCIO user experience (UX) experts
are also committed and involved to ensure that development can
incorporate public input through robust user participation and
feedback.\25\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\23\ U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright Modernization, https://www.copyright.gov/copyright-modernization/.
\24\ U.S. Copyright Office, Modernization Webinar, https://www.copyright.gov/copyright-modernization/webinar/.
\25\ Letter from Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, and Karyn
A. Temple, Register of Copyrights & Dir., to Hon. Thom Tillis,
United States Senate, 4-5 (Sept. 30, 2019), https://www.copyright.gov/rulemaking/reg-modernization/letter-to-senator-thom-tillis.pdf; Letter from Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, to
Thom Tillis, Chairman, S. Comm. on the Judiciary, Subcomm. on
Intellectual Prop., and Christopher A. Coons, Ranking Member, S.
Comm. on the Judiciary, Subcomm. on Intellectual Prop., 8-9 (Jan. 7,
2020), https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Hayden%20Responses%20to%20QFRs.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To further advance these efforts, and following careful
consideration of the comments received in response to the 2018 NOI, the
Office is now announcing plans to adopt eleven registration practice
updates that it will identify as business needs to the OCIO, so that
they may be incorporated into the design of the new ECS to support a
more user-friendly and efficient registration process that is simpler,
clearer, secure, and adaptable. As detailed below, these updates relate
to both the substance of the registration application and the utility
of the online public record from a registration-specific perspective.
The Office has concluded that each of these intended practice changes
or design features can be incorporated into the ECS without adjusting
existing regulatory language. As development efforts progress, the
Office envisions initiating a pilot program that could permit
incorporation of these updates through an iterative process that also
takes into account participants' input, similar to the recently-
announced pilot for the electronic recordation system.\26\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\26\ See 85 FR at 3854.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Office also seeks further input from the public regarding two
additional issues: (1) How the Office might implement a system that
would allow users to make post-registration amendments to rights and
permissions and unique identifier information; and (2) further
considerations related to the possibility of permitting the voluntary
submission of an additional public-facing deposit, that may display
low-resolution or incomplete portions of the registered work to enhance
the public record.
[[Page 12706]]
I. Registration Practice Updates
(A) The Application Process: How Users Engage With the Registration
System
(1) New Application Assistance Tools
Recognizing that users approach the system with varying levels of
understanding of copyright law and technical experience, the NOI sought
input on how the Office should integrate in-application support and
assistance to users of the electronic registration system. The Office
proposed multi-tiered support options to offer basic, intermediate, or
in-depth support based on user experience level.\27\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\27\ 83 FR at 52338.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All commenters expressed support for some form of improved
assistance for users.\28\ Some encouraged the Office to focus on
improving the materials and resources currently available to
applicants, with, for example, the AAP and the Motion Picture
Association of America, Inc. (``MPAA'') urging the Office to expand
upon its existing Frequently Asked Questions web page.\29\ The
Association of Medical Illustrators (``AMI'') proposed that the Office
provide a service similar to that of the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office (``USPTO''), which ``maintains an inventor assistance hotline as
well as a call center providing live, telephonic assistance in
resolving problems of formalities of electronically submitted patent
applications.'' \30\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\28\ See AIPLA Comments, at 2 (``AIPLA . . . supports including
more embedded links to provide immediate help in completing each
section of the online application.''); Copyright Alliance Comments,
at 4 (``As an organization that represents a diverse group of
copyright owners--including individual creators, and small and large
businesses--the Copyright Alliance supports a multi-tier approach to
in-application support and assistance that would more effectively
meet the specific needs of both novice and experienced
applicants.''); NMPA Comments, at 3 (``NMPA supports a multi-tiered
approach to in-application assistance.'').
\29\ AAP Comments, at 4; MPAA Comments, at 2-3 (Jan. 15, 2019).
\30\ AMI Comments, at 3 (Jan. 15, 2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other commenters recommended the development of new in-application
assistance tools. For example, GAG suggested that the Office
incorporate frequently asked questions and answers ``throughout the
registration application stream (possibly within an interactive widget
that won't clutter or obstruct the interface).'' \31\ The New York
Intellectual Property Law Association (``NYIPLA'') urged the Office to
provide ``more information and guidance in the online forms
themselves,'' and suggested that the USPTO's ``method of providing
links to pop-up windows with additional information provides a good
model for how information can be presented to users.'' \32\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\31\ GAG Comments, at 3.
\32\ NYIPLA Comments, at 2 (Jan. 15, 2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Office will pursue both approaches. The Office is updating its
website to provide additional guidance that applicants can consult
before they begin or while they are completing an application. In
addition to improving existing FAQs, the Office is updating its
questionnaires and adding video tutorials. The Office also will request
development of new tools for in-application assistance, such as the
tiered system proposed in the 2018 NOI, subject to usability testing
during the OCIO's ECS development.
(2) Electronic Applications
The 2018 NOI sought comment on whether the Office should switch to
a strictly-electronic system. After considering the feedback received,
the Office will continue to encourage the use of electronic
applications over paper forms by differentiating the fees for the
standard and paper applications. But it will not, at this time,
eliminate paper applications.
While paper applications remain the most cumbersome for the Office
to ingest and examine,\33\ these forms serve populations that do not
have access to a computer or the internet. The Office notes GAG's
comment that ``there will always be a certain portion of the population
who, for various reasons (such as disability, distance from libraries,
time constraints, etc.) are unable to avail themselves of those
resources.'' \34\ Additionally, several commenters expressed concerns
about potential technology failures.\35\ The 2018 NOI also sought input
on whether to switch to electronic-only payment methods, eliminating
the instances where payments may be made by cash or check. After
consideration of these comments and review of the various regulatory
provisions regarding payments,\36\ the Office has determined to issue a
separate notice to discuss proposed changes to streamline and harmonize
its payment processing rules. The Office may separately consider
questions related to the feasibility of subscription pricing under its
current statutory authority.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\33\ See 83 FR at 52338 (noting that ``a significant portion of
claims submitted on paper forms require correspondence or other
action from the Office, which further increases pendency times and
contributes to the overall backlog of pending claims.'').
\34\ GAG Comments, at 4.
\35\ AIPLA Comments, at 2 (``[T]echnology has limitations and
suffers downtime and failures. It is often critically important that
applicants file within strict time requirements to enforce their
rights in court (17 U.S.C. 411) or avoid losing statutory benefits
(17 U.S.C. 412).''); GAG Comments, at 4 (``Paper applications . . .
fill in the gap when a system outage or government shutdown make the
eCO system unavailable.''); NMPA Comments, at 6 (``[O]ur members who
opt for the paper application largely do so because of negative
experiences with the electronic system or interfering outages. Our
members have found paper applications a useful backup option for
when the electronic system is down.'').
\36\ See, e.g., 37 CFR 201.6(a), 201.33(e)(2), 201.39(g)(3),
202.12(c)(2)(ii), 202.23(e)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) Electronic Certificates
Upon approving an application for registration of a copyright
claim, the Office issues a certificate of registration.\37\ While the
Office has traditionally issued certificates in paper form, the 2018
NOI proposed providing electronic certificates in a secure form to
ensure authenticity. The cost of the electronic certificate would be
included in the registration fee. The Office proposed that it would
provide paper certificates upon request for an additional fee.\38\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\37\ 17 U.S.C. 410(a), 708(a)(1).
\38\ 83 FR at 52338-39; see 37 CFR 201.3(c)(14) (2019) (fee for
obtaining an additional certificate).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All commenters supported the issuance of electronic
certificates.\39\ In response to the Office's explanation that printing
paper certificates ``requires a substantial amount of resources both in
terms of employee compensation and the cost of maintaining printing
equipment,'' \40\ AMI agreed that ``resources currently utilized for
printing and mailing paper certificates should be redirected to other
services, such as better application assistance.'' \41\ The Office
accordingly will issue electronic certificates in the new ECS as a
matter of course. The Office intends to offer paper certificates for an
additional fee.\42\ In addition, as noted below, the Office has
determined that it is appropriate for these electronic certificates to
be viewable in the public record.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\39\ See, e.g., Author Services, Inc. Comments, at 2 (Jan. 8,
2019) (``We support this proposal''); Copyright Alliance Comments,
at 9 (``The Copyright Alliance supports the Office's proposal to
issue electronic certificates in lieu of paper copies and only offer
paper certificates for an additional fee''); GAG Comments, at 4
(``We agree with the Copyright Office's proposal that registration
certificates be supplied as electronic documents with validating
watermarks, etc.''); MPAA Comments, at 5 (``The MPAA has no
objection to the Office issuing electronic certificates in the
normal course, with paper certificates available for an additional
fee.''); News Media Alliance (``NMA'') Comments, at 4 (Jan. 15,
2019) (``The Alliance supports the issuance of electronic
certificates, particularly if it would expedite the application
process and the resulting savings are used to offset costs to the
registrants.'').
\40\ 83 FR at 52338.
\41\ AMI Comments, at 4.
\42\ The Office will issue a notice regarding any additional
fees. See 17 U.S.C. 708.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some commenters expressed concern about whether courts would accept
[[Page 12707]]
electronic certificates.\43\ The Office will request implementation of
visual markers, such as watermarks, to indicate that an Office-issued
electronic registration certificate is indeed authentic.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\43\ Copyright Alliance Comments, at 9; MPAA Comments, at 5-6;
NMPA Comments at 7; NYIPLA Comments, at 2; RIAA Comments, at 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(B) Application Information: The Information Requested on the
Application for Registration
(1) Simplifying the Authorship Statement
The Copyright Act does not require registration applicants to
describe the type of work for which registration is sought, except in
the case of a compilation or derivative work.\44\ But the Act permits
the Register to require ``any other information'' that bears ``upon the
preparation or identification of the work or the existence, ownership,
or duration of the copyright.'' \45\ Thus, under current practices,
``[t]o register a work of authorship, the applicant must file an
application that clearly identifies the copyrightable authorship that
the applicant intends to register.'' \46\ In the online application,
the applicant can identify that authorship by ``checking one or more of
the boxes in the Author Created field that accurately describe the
authorship.'' \47\ The options available vary depending on the type of
application in use (e.g., Literary, Visual Arts, or Performing Arts).
If registering a literary work, the options are ``text,'' ``computer
program,'' ``photograph(s),'' or ``artwork.'' If registering a visual
arts work, the options include ``photograph'' and ``two-dimensional
artwork,'' among others. If registering a performing arts work, the
options include ``music,'' ``lyrics,'' ``other text (includes script,
screenplay, dramatic work),'' and ``musical arrangement.'' As a result,
works are described by their individual elements (e.g., text, lyrics,
or two-dimensional artwork), rather than by a holistic description of
the work such as ``children's book with illustrations,'' ``research
paper,'' or ``craft book with photographs,'' which may be more helpful
for future identification purposes. Seeking to capture a more complete
description of works submitted for registration, the Office proposed to
adjust the Author Created section and ask applicants to identify the
work as a whole instead of the work's individual elements.\48\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\44\ See 17 U.S.C. 409(1)-(10).
\45\ Id. at 409(10).
\46\ U.S. Copyright Office, Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office
Practices sec. 618.1 (3d ed. 2017) (``Compendium (Third)'').
\47\ Id. at sec. 618.4(A).
\48\ 83 FR at 52339-40.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Although the Office did not receive comments objecting to the
adjustment of this requirement per se, several commenters opposed the
wholesale elimination of the online application's Author Created
section.\49\ For example, AAP argued that it is ``helpful to the public
record to have an applicant name the authorship, what is being
registered, what is being disclaimed, and other such pertinent
information.'' \50\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\49\ See, e.g., AIPLA Comments, at 3-4; Authors Guild, Inc.
(``Authors Guild'') Comments, at 3 (Jan. 15, 2019).
\50\ AAP Comments, at 5.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Office agrees that authorship descriptions provide pertinent
information concerning registered works, and does not intend a complete
removal of the Author Created section. Rather, the Office will request
that the OCIO explore two complementary methods to obtain more complete
and specific descriptions of works. First, the Office will request
exploration of using tiers of descriptions that permit the applicant to
gradually narrow the identification of their work using a more expanded
decision tree format. Under this approach, the system would allow
applicants to identify the work submitted for registration by using
general and specific pre-populated descriptions, as well as a free-form
space allowing applicants to provide more descriptive, non-legal
information. General descriptions would include the categories of
authorship set forth in section 102 of the Copyright Act, while
specific descriptions could include particular types of works within
those categories--for example, ``novel,'' ``poem,'' ``article'' or
``podcast.'' After testing the feasibility of this approach, the Office
will provide guidance regarding whether this method is preferable to
the current format.
Second, and potentially additive of the first approach, the Office
will request that the OCIO investigate developing a table of
crowdsourced descriptions, using as a model the USPTO's Trademark
Identification Manual, which provides users with acceptable
identifications of goods and services for use in trademark
applications.\51\ This option would allow examiners to curate
acceptable descriptions encountered through the examination process to
add to the database, and for an applicant to rely upon this list for
guidance in describing their work. This would allow the Office to
consider and adopt industry-specific or specialized descriptors for
applications on a going-forward basis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\51\ See USPTO, Trademark ID Manual, https://idm-tmng.uspto.gov/id-master-list-public.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For paper applications, the Office will permit the examiner to
provide a description of the work submitted for registration where no
description is provided by the applicant. Although commenters were not
supportive of examiners providing work descriptions, arguing that it
would ``likely increase the workload of examiners and could have the
effect of lengthening registration times and increasing costs,'' \52\
on average, paper applications comprise only 4% of all applications
that the Office receives.\53\ A common error that the Office encounters
is a blank authorship section. Allowing examiners to provide this
information would improve efficiency by reducing the correspondence
required to obtain omitted authorship statements, which, as the Office
has noted, ``imposes significant burdens on the Office's limited
resources, and has had an adverse effect on the [pendency of]
examination of claims submitted on electronic forms.'' \54\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\52\ NMPA Comments, at 11.
\53\ U.S. Copyright Office, Registration Processing Times,
https://www.copyright.gov/registration/docs/processing-times-faqs.pdf.
\54\ 83 FR at 52338.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) Derivative Works
For a compilation or derivative work, the Copyright Act requires
copyright registration applicants to identify ``any preexisting work or
works that it is based on or incorporates'' and to provide ``a brief,
general statement of the additional material covered by the copyright
claim being registered.'' \55\ Generally, the Office attempts to obtain
this information in two steps. First, the applicant must ``identify the
new authorship that the applicant intends to register'' by checking one
or more boxes that appear under the heading ``Author Created'' in the
online application that describe the new material the applicant intends
to register, or by providing a descriptive statement in the ``Nature of
Authorship'' space on the paper application.\56\ Second, if the
derivative work contains an appreciable amount of preexisting material
that was previously published, previously registered, in the public
domain, or owned by a third party, the applicant must identify that
material by checking one or more boxes in the ``Material Excluded''
field of the online application or by providing a brief statement in
the corresponding section of the paper application.\57\ This
[[Page 12708]]
method can lead to gaps in the public record because it ``encourage[s]
applicants to identify individual elements of the work that should be
excluded from the claim,'' but it does not require applicants to
identify the preexisting work itself.\58\ Further, in the Office's
experience, the checkboxes provided on the application may limit
applicants' ability to fully describe the nature of their claims,
leading to errors in identifying new or preexisting material. For
example, using the checkboxes, applicants often mark the ``Material
Included'' as ``text'' and the ``Material Excluded'' also as ``text.''
These descriptions do not add any meaningful information to users of
the public record.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\55\ 17 U.S.C. 409(9).
\56\ Compendium (Third) sec. 618.5.
\57\ Id.
\58\ 83 FR at 52341.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To avoid this result, the 2018 NOI proposed requiring applicants to
identify explicitly whether a work submitted for registration is a
derivative work. If the work is identified as derivative, applicants
would be directed to identify, in their own words, any elements that
should be excluded from the claim. And, assuming that the applicant
intends to register all copyrightable aspects of the work that have not
been expressly disclaimed, the applicant would not be required to
identify the new material that should be ``included'' in the claim.\59\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\59\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
While most commenters acknowledged that it would benefit the public
record to require applicants to explicitly identify derivative works
submitted for registration,\60\ some were concerned that such a
requirement would cause confusion. For example, the Copyright Alliance
had ``concerns that novice applicants might be confused about how to
answer such a question,'' believing that it ``would require an
understanding of the nuance between `transformation' as it is used in
fair use, and `transform' as it is used to define a derivative work.''
\61\ GAG likewise noted that ``novice users (and even experience[d]
users) are often tripped up in interpreting whether a work is
derivative.'' \62\ Instead of asking whether a work is a derivative
work, commenters argued that the Office should ask ``whether
preexisting works have been used, and if yes, what those works are.''
\63\ Some commenters also expressed concern that eliminating the
requirement to identify the new material that should be included in the
claim would ``wreak havoc with the Copyright Office's objective to
produce as accurate a public record as possible.'' \64\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\60\ See, e.g., AIPLA Comments, at 4 (``AIPLA believes that
applicants should be required to identify whether the work submitted
for registration is a derivative work''); AMI Comments, at 6 (``The
AMI would not object to asking applicants to affirmatively state
whether a work submitted is derivative provid[ed] the application
form makes it crystal clear as to what constitutes a derivative
work.''); NYIPLA Comments, at 3 (``It is often helpful to know
whether a registered work is a derivative work'').
\61\ Copyright Alliance Comments, at 17.
\62\ GAG Comments, at 7.
\63\ Id.; see American Bar Association Section of Intellectual
Property Law (``ABA-IPL'') Comments, at 5 (Jan. 9, 2019) (``The
Section suggests that a simpler process for soliciting factual
information about preexisting materials would be to include
questions requiring `yes/no' responses'').
\64\ AAP Comments, at 6.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Others supported this proposed approach. AMI opined that
eliminating ``cumbersome checkboxes'' and allowing applicants ``to more
easily explain in their own words the elements that are pre-existing
versus the `new material to be included' '' would simplify the
registration process for such works.\65\ AIPLA agreed that ``asking the
applicant to identify the new authorship is unnecessary . . . and that
the Office should assume that the applicant intends to register all
copyrightable aspects of the work.'' \66\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\65\ AMI Comments, at 5 (citation omitted).
\66\ AIPLA Comments, at 4; see also New Media Rights (``NMR'')
Comments, at 17 (Jan. 15, 2019) (``If the user disclaims content,
presumably the rest of the protectable audiovisual work is original
content created by the author, so the `New Material Included'
category does not seem necessary or relevant unless the work being
registered is a new edition of a previously registered work (which
is a very specific subset of content).''); AAP Comments, at 5 (``AAP
members are in favor of asking applicants to explicitly identify
whether a work submitted for registration is a derivative work and
to identify, in their own words, any elements that should be
excluded from the claim.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
After reviewing the comments, the Office continues to believe that
the current identification process should be simplified, but agrees
that use of the term ``derivative work'' may cause confusion. Instead,
the Office will provide a business requirement that the revised
electronic application ask applicants, in plain language, about the
facts relating to the authorship of the work (e.g., Is the work based
on one or more preexisting works? Does the work incorporate any
preexisting work?). The Office will request that the system allow
applicants to identify any elements that should be excluded from the
claim using their own words, rather than a set of predetermined
checkboxes. This approach is intended to streamline the process by
which applicants can disclaim preexisting material.
(3) Simplifying the Transfer Statement
An application for registration must identify the copyright
claimant.\67\ The ``claimant'' is either the author(s) of the work
submitted for registration,\68\ or an individual or organization that
owns all of the rights under copyright.\69\ To register a claim of
copyright, ``if the copyright claimant is not the author,'' the
copyright registration application must include ``a brief statement of
how the claimant obtained ownership of the copyright.'' \70\ This
``brief statement'' is termed a transfer statement. Further, the
Copyright Act specifies that copyright may be transferred (1) ``by any
means of conveyance,'' (2) ``by will or . . . by the applicable laws of
intestate succession,'' or (3) ``by operation of law,'' and so the
transfer statement must fit within these statutory guidelines.\71\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\67\ 17 U.S.C. 409(1).
\68\ Id. at 201(a) (``Copyright in a work protected under this
title vests initially in the author or authors of the work. The
authors of a joint work are coowners of copyright in the work.'').
\69\ Id. at 201(d)(1) (``The ownership of a copyright may be
transferred in whole or in part by any means of conveyance or by
operation of law, and may be bequeathed by will or pass as personal
property by the applicable laws of intestate succession.''); 37 CFR
202.3(a)(3) (defining claimant as the author of a work or the person
or organization that has obtained all rights under copyright
initially belonging to the author).
\70\ 17 U.S.C. 409(5).
\71\ Id. at 201(d)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the 2018 NOI explained, the current online registration
application allows applicants to provide a transfer statement by
selecting one of three options in a drop-down menu marked ``Transfer
Statement.'' The three options are ``By written agreement,'' ``By
inheritance,'' and ``Other.'' The Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office
Practices provides that ``[i]f the claimant obtained the copyright
through an assignment, contract, or other written agreement, the
applicant should select `By written agreement.' '' \72\ And ``[i]f the
claimant obtained the copyright through a will, bequest, or other form
of inheritance, the applicant should select `By inheritance.' '' \73\
The applicant may select ``Other'' and provide a more specific transfer
statement in a blank space marked ``Transfer Statement Other'' if ``By
written agreement'' or ``By inheritance'' do not fully describe the
transfer.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\72\ Compendium (Third) sec. 620.9(A).
\73\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the 2018 NOI, the Office proposed eliminating the ``Other''
option both to avoid confusion among applicants and to better align the
process with the statutory text. Applicants often provide conflicting
information when they select the ``Other'' option, which requires
examiners to expend time to correspond with applicants to correct the
application and delays the resolution of claims. Because the methods of
transfer are limited by section 201, practically
[[Page 12709]]
speaking, the only correct statement that can be provided in the
``Other'' space is a transfer occurring ``by operation of law,'' a
legal concept referring to rights that arise under specific
contingencies such as by court-ordered or bankruptcy-related transfers,
certain forms of acquisitions such as stock sales, or explicit
agreements providing for joint ownership with rights of
survivorship.\74\ The Office accordingly proposed to replace the
``Other'' option with ``By operation of law.'' \75\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\74\ See David Nimmer & Melville Nimmer, 3 Nimmer on Copyright
sec. 10.03(A)(6) (2019).
\75\ 83 FR at 52341.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most commenters supported the Office's proposal, agreeing that it
would ``simplify and clarify the process for completing transfer
statements.'' \76\ Others, however, expressed concern about the
proposed change. For example, the Authors Guild argued that the ``means
of acquiring ownership other than by written transfer or inheritance
should be spelled out in a dropdown menu in plain English and
explained'' because `` `By operation of law' is a broad and legal term
that non-lawyers won't necessarily understand.'' \77\ AAP opposed
removing the ``Transfer Statement Other'' field, recommending ``a
flexible and open format to accommodate sufficient explanation in cases
of complicated transfer statements'' to support a ``robust and useful
public record.'' \78\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\76\ NYIPLA Comments, at 3; see also AMI Comments, at 6 (``The
AMI supports simplification of transfer statements.'');
International Trademark Association (``INTA'') Comments, at 7 (Jan.
10, 2019) (``[S]ince Copyright Act Section 201(d)(1) provides for
transfer of an author's interest only by written agreement,
inheritance, or operation of law, limiting the transfer statement to
these three categories is advisable.''); MPAA Comments, at 9 (``The
only options that should be available to registrants in describing a
transfer of ownership are those mentioned in 17 U.S.C. 201: `by
written agreement,' `by inheritance,' or `by operation of law.'
There is no statutory justification for the `Other' option, which
should be eliminated.'').
\77\ Authors Guild Comments, at 4.
\78\ AAP Comments, at 6.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As several commenters pointed out, copyright transfer remains a
confusing area of law for many applicants.\79\ While it might at first
seem that giving applicants more space to describe their particular
transfer scenario would enhance the public record, the Office's
experience indicates that an open format text box can give rise to
inconsistent information, while increasing registration processing time
due to the need for correspondence. Therefore, the Office tentatively
concludes it would be optimal to eliminate the ``Other'' field and
restrict the available fields to ``By written agreement,'' ``By
inheritance,'' and ``By operation of law'' to improve efficiency.
Rather than requiring applicants to describe the transfer in their own
words, the Office intends to provide guidance, such as information
icons or other in-application assistance, to provide a clear definition
of each transfer statement option for applicants, including, in
particular, to explain what instances may constitute a transfer ``by
operation of law.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\79\ See Authors Guild Comments, at 4; Copyright Alliance
Comments, at 17; GAG Comments, at 7; INTA Comments, at 7.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Office is also exploring the value of providing a space for
applicants to add any recordation document numbers that support the
transfer statement. While a copy of an agreement, conveyance, or other
legal instrument is not an acceptable substitute for a transfer
statement,\80\ if such an instrument has been recorded with the Office,
the relevant recordation information may be valuable to the
registration record. Should this option prove feasible, the Office will
provide in-application guidance on relevant document recordation
topics.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\80\ Compendium (Third) sec. 620.10(A).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(4) In-Process Corrections
The current online registration system does not permit applicants
to make manual corrections once an application is submitted to the
Office. The applicant must contact the Public Information Office to ask
the Office to make any necessary corrections. For the new ECS, the
Office proposed removing this limitation and permitting applicants to
make changes to pending applications at any point before an examiner
opens the application for review.\81\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\81\ 83 FR at 52341.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All commenters supported this proposal,\82\ but several requested
that the ECS warn applicants when an amendment would change a work's
Effective Date of Registration.\83\ ImageRights International, Inc.
(``ImageRights'') recommended that the system ``present a schedule of
what types of changes can be made without altering the Effective Date
of Registration and which changes would change the Effective Date.''
\84\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\82\ See, e.g., AIPLA Comments, at 5 (``AIPLA supports
permitting applicants to make edits to pending applications in most
circumstances.''); AAP Comments, at 6 (``AAP members generally
support the proposal of allowing applicants to make in-process edits
to open cases prior to the examination of application materials.'').
\83\ AAP Comments, at 6 (``We trust the Office would establish
clear parameters and practices as to when such corrections would
trigger a change in the effective date of registration.'');
Copyright Alliance Comments, at 18 (``The Office should permit
applicants to make in-process edits to open cases at any point prior
to the examination of the application materials, provided that the
Office clearly warns applicants prior to making changes that a
modification could alter the effective date depending on the type of
change and explains the types of changes that would result in change
in the effective date.'').
\84\ ImageRights Comments, at 6 (Jan. 15, 2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In general, to establish an Effective Date of Registration, the
Office must receive an acceptable application, a complete deposit copy,
and the appropriate filing fee.\85\ The Effective Date of Registration
is the date the Office receives all three of these elements, but
``[w]here the three necessary elements are received at different times
the date of receipt of the last of them is controlling.'' \86\ The
Compendium sets forth the minimum requirements for an acceptable
application, deposit copy, and filing fee.\87\ In consideration of the
comments, the Office envisions that the new ECS will incorporate these
current rules to warn applicants when an amendment would alter the
Effective Date of Registration.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\85\ Compendium (Third) sec. 625.
\86\ H.R. Rep. No. 94-1476, at 157 (1976), reprinted in 1976
U.S.C.C.A.N. 5659, 5773.
\87\ Compendium (Third) sec. 625.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(5) Application Programming Interfaces (``APIs'')
A copyright system of the twenty-first century demands flexibility,
agility, and adaptability to technological advancements. The Office
believes that the use of APIs--interfaces that permit communication
between two systems or software programs--could improve the
registration system by enabling programs used in the process of
creating works to submit copyright registration applications or extract
data from the online public record. To explore possible uses of this
technology in the new ECS, the Office invited comment on how it could
use APIs to integrate external data into the registration system or
allow parties to export internal data from the Office's registry. The
Office also inquired about relevant design considerations, such as
establishing a trusted provider framework to minimize spam submissions
and deter predatory behavior.\88\ Commenters generally agreed that
using APIs would benefit registration applicants and users of the
online public record,\89\ although some
[[Page 12710]]
commenters urged the Office to provide adequate safeguards to protect
the security of the data and to guard against abuses by bad actors.\90\
With stakeholder support, the Office will continue to explore and
clarify its business needs related to the use of APIs for two purposes:
(1) Ingesting data into the Office online registration system, and (2)
extracting information from the online public record. Of course, any
new functionality must provide appropriate security for all relevant
data. The Office will continue to communicate this need to the OCIO.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\88\ 83 FR at 52342-43.
\89\ Artists Rights Society Comments, at 4 (Jan. 10, 2019)
(``ARS . . . would welcome the opportunity to develop in cooperation
with the Office an API that would be tailored to the needs of ARS
members so that when members sign up with ARS . . . they also might
be able to complete an electronic registration form.''); CVA
Comments, at 27-28 (encouraging the Office ``to develop robust
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that will allow third-
party image management software to interface directly with the
Copyright Office's registration system''); Copyright Alliance
Comments, at 21 (expressing support for ``allowing third-parties to
interoperate with the Office's API in a way that would integrate
registration into a creator's workflow to streamline and simplify
the registration process''); GAG Comments, at 8 (expressing support
for the ``integration of APIs into the registration system so that
registration becomes part of a creator's workflow'').
\90\ See, e.g., Copyright Alliance Comments, at 23 (urging the
Office to ``create terms of service for access to its API,'' which
would allow the Office ``to block access . . . [by] third parties
who abuse the APIs'' though spam submissions or predatory behavior);
PPA Comments, at 16 (stating that the Office must ensure that ``the
process is secure and able to handle the influx of data'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initially, the Office will prioritize investigation of ways to
allow for the transmission of data between the registration system and
the database of musical works information that will be administered by
the Mechanical Licensing Collective (``MLC'') pursuant to the Orrin G.
Hatch-Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act.\91\ The MLC database will
contain information relating to musical works (and shares of such
works) and, to the extent known, the identity and location of the
copyright owners of such works and the sound recordings in which the
musical works are embodied.\92\ To reduce the incidence of unmatched
works, where the copyright owner has not been identified or located,
the MLC will operate a claiming process by which musical work copyright
owners may identify their ownership interests in a musical work
underlying a specific sound recording, to receive accrued royalties for
the usage of that musical work.\93\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\91\ Public Law 115-264, 132 Stat. 3676 (2018).
\92\ 17 U.S.C. 115(d)(3)(C).
\93\ Id. at 115(d)(3)(I), (J)(iii); see id. at 115(e)(35).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
By law, the Copyright Office may access the database in a bulk,
machine-readable format, although the Office may not treat the database
or any of its information therein as a Government record.\94\ As some
have suggested,\95\ providing a method of access between the copyright
and MLC registration systems could permit a copyright owner to verify
or update ownership information with respect to musical works listed in
the MLC database alongside the process of completing a copyright
registration application for that work, or vice versa. The Office has
concluded that the MLC database represents an appropriate starting
point for API development. While the Office will prioritize this
aspect, the Office will also work with the OCIO to explore additional
avenues to facilitate the ingestion and exportation of data through
APIs, while ensuring the integrity of registration records and
safeguarding against abuses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\94\ Id. at 115(d)(3)(E)(v).
\95\ David C. Lowery, Simplifying Registration and Costs for
MLC, The Trichordist (Nov. 6, 2019), https://thetrichordist.com/2019/11/06/simplify-registration-and-costs-for-mlc/ (``It seems like
a simple solution for the Copyright Office to harmonize [the online
registration system and the MLC database] to . . . have a check box
to allow you to sign up with the MLC.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(C) Public Record: How Users Engage and Manage Copyright Office Records
(1) The Online Registration Record
The Copyright Act charges the Copyright Office with ensuring ``that
records of deposits, registrations, recordations, and other actions
taken under this title are maintained'' and are ``open to public
inspection.'' \96\ The 2018 NOI proposed to expand the online public
record to include records of pending applications, refusals, closures,
appeals, and correspondence for completed claims.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\96\ 17 U.S.C. 705.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This proposal received significant support from many commenters.
For example, the American Association of Law Libraries (``AALL'')
supported ``publishing refused registration application records, full
versions of correspondence records, and associated appeal records in
the online public record because we believe it would help the public
better understand the originality requirement in copyright law and
assist those who wish to register a claim to a copyright understand the
contours of what `constitute[s] copyrightable subject matter.' '' \97\
Similarly, AIPLA noted that ``the need for full information regarding
an application and registration is often crucial for litigation,
licensing, and corporate diligence, among other circumstances.'' \98\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\97\ AALL Comments, at 1 (Jan. 14, 2019) (citing 17 U.S.C.
410(b)).
\98\ AIPLA Comments, at 6.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some commenters, however, expressed concern that records of
correspondence may expose personally identifiable information or
informal communications that applicants may not wish to make public.
Explaining that ``[c]orrespondence between applicants and the Office is
often informal,'' AAP argued that including such materials ``would not
be appropriate [or] useful for the Public Record and could be misused
by persons who have no claim to the work in question.'' \99\ Other
commenters argued that the public record should be limited to records
of what has been registered by the Copyright Office.\100\ NMPA, for
example, contended that ``[o]nly a subset of copyrights would benefit
from the inclusion of . . . additional information in the Online Public
Record'' and that ``[i]ncluding large amounts of administrative
information concerning a registration would likely slow the system down
and be an inefficient use of the Office's resources.'' \101\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\99\ AAP Comments, at 7.
\100\ See, e.g., RIAA Comments, at 8 (``The online public record
should support its primary purpose to notify the public of which
works have been registered, and not be appended in a manner that
detracts or dilutes from this important function.'').
\101\ NMPA Comments, at 17-18.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current law and regulations require the Office to make available
for public inspection any ``[o]fficial correspondence, including
preliminary applications, between copyright claimants or their agents
and the Copyright Office, and directly relating to a completed
registration, a recorded document, a rejected application for
registration, or a document for which recordation was refused.'' \102\
Further, the current registration application displays a privacy notice
stating that the information collected for registration ``will appear
in the Office's online catalog.'' \103\ Given that registration records
are already available for public inspection and copying,\104\ the
Office does not see a persuasive basis for categorically excluding them
from online availability, although the Office will approach historical
materials sensitively to address any potential notice or privacy
considerations.
[[Page 12711]]
Expanding the online public record to include these materials would
advance the Office's goal to ``[e]xpand access to Copyright Office
records'' and ``[e]nhance services'' to make it ``easier and more
convenient for users to transact business with the Copyright Office.''
\105\ As such, on a prospective basis, the Office will request that the
ECS include records of pending applications, refusals, closures,
appeals, and correspondence for completed claims in the new online
public record. The Office's PII removal rule will remain in place to
provide for removal of extraneous PII from the public record upon
request.\106\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\102\ 37 CFR 201.2(c)(1); see also 17 U.S.C. 705.
\103\ U.S. Copyright Office, eCO Registration System Standard
Application, https://eco.copyright.gov/ (``Privacy Act Notice:
Sections 408-410 of title 17 of the United States Code authorize the
Copyright Office to collect the personally identifying information
requested on this form in order to process the application for
copyright registration. By providing this information you are
agreeing to routine uses of the information that include publication
to give legal notice of your copyright claim as required by 17
U.S.C. 705. It will appear in the Office's online catalog. If you do
not provide the information requested, registration may be refused
or delayed, and you may not be entitled to certain relief, remedies,
and benefits under the copyright law.'').
\104\ Compendium (Third) sec. 2407.1(B)(1).
\105\ U.S. Copyright Office, Strategic Plan 2019-2023,
Copyright: The Engine of Free Expression 13 (2019), https://www.copyright.gov/reports/strategic-plan/USCO-strategic2019-2023.pdf.
\106\ See 37 CFR 201.2(f).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Similarly, the Office will work with the OCIO to make digital
copies of registration certificates available in the online public
record.
(2) Linking Registration and Recordation Records
Arising out of historical practice, registration and recordation
records are currently maintained as discrete data sets. Because these
records are not linked, it can be difficult to identify chain-of-title
information for particular works contained in the Office's records. All
commenters supported the Office's proposal to link registration and
recordation records, so that information about registered claims,
recorded transfers, and/or other chain of title information can be
viewed together to facilitate access to information about copyrighted
works, including updated ownership information.\107\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\107\ AALL Comments, at 3 (noting that the proposal ``would
assist users who are attempting to obtain permission to use a work
with accurately identifying and contacting the current copyright
owner''); ABA-IPL Comments, at 7 (``The Section strongly supports
connecting registration and recordation records.''); Authors
Alliance Comments, at 5 (Jan. 15, 2019) (noting that the proposal
would ``increase[] the likelihood that users will be able to locate
current and accurate contact information for copyright holders,
better facilitating licensing and permissions requests''); INTA
Comments, at 15 (expressing support for ``provid[ing] chain of title
information''); NMPA Comments, at 18 (``The registration and
recordation systems should be fully integrated and should be part of
the same database.''); Nanette Petruzzelli Comments, at 5 (Jan. 14,
2019) (supporting the proposal so that ``public inquiry about the
current copyright status of a work can be found in one record/
file'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Because the registration and recordation processes are voluntary,
however, commenters also highlighted some areas of caution, which the
Office itself is taking into account when developing requirements for
the new ECS. For example, RIAA noted that while linking records would
be useful, it could ``create confusion where the records are incomplete
or the chain of title is unclear.'' \108\ RIAA also expressed concern
about ``what legal presumptions may be made based on the chain of title
in a recordation record where there is no obligation for a subsequent
rights holder to file a transfer or security interest with the
Office.'' \109\ The MPAA cautioned that the Office should not ``itself
engage in chain-of-title analysis.'' \110\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\108\ RIAA Comments, at 8.
\109\ RIAA Comments, at 8.
\110\ MPAA Comments, at 13.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Copyright Office appreciates the need for the ECS to clearly
communicate the limitations of the public record to users of the
system. Currently, the Office warns that while ``[s]earches of the
Copyright Office catalogs and records are useful in helping to
determine the copyright status of a work . . . they cannot be regarded
as conclusive in all cases.'' \111\ The Office will continue to explore
ways to minimize confusion on the part of users. For example, the
Office may request that the ECS begin by linking only future
registration and recordation records.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\111\ U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 22: How to Investigate the
Copyright Status of a Work 3 (Feb. 2013), https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ22.pdf; see also U.S. Copyright Office, Request a Search
Estimate, https://www.copyright.gov/forms/search_estimate.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second, commenters discussed how the Office should display
assignment information and documentation within public registration
records. The ABA-IPL suggested that the USPTO's system, which consists
of an ``Assignment Abstract of Title'' linked to the database entry for
a mark identified in a search, could be a model for the Copyright
Office's system.\112\ The NYIPLA similarly suggested that ``the
Trademark Office offers a good model in that the application/
registration data is directly linked to the chain of title
information.'' \113\ The Office found these comments helpful and hopes
to work with the OCIO to explore the specific manner of display for the
new online public record system.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\112\ ABA-IPL Comments, at 7.
\113\ NYIPLA Comments, at 5.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) Unified Case Number
The Office currently administers and tracks separate numbers for
applications, correspondence, and registrations, which creates
challenges for the Office and users. To streamline identification
methods, the 2018 NOI proposed to unify the Office's identification
numbers to create a clear relationship between an application for
registration, any correspondence, and any associated request for
reconsideration.\114\ There was a general consensus among commenters in
support of the Office's proposal.\115\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\114\ 83 FR at 52344.
\115\ See generally AIPLA Comments, at 7 (``AIPLA strongly
supports this proposal.''); AAP Comments, at 8 (``AAP members are in
favor of unified case numbers to track and identify a work or group
of works through the registration and appeals process''); PPA
Comments, at 16 (``PPA supports a single case number which remains
with the application through the registration process and after the
registration is issued. This will help with tracking and
consistency.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Accordingly, for future applications, the Office would like the
system to adopt one number for any pending application and registration
record completed from that application. The Office envisions that the
number assigned to an application (the ``case number'') and the
registration number will have an identical base, but the registration
number will be distinguished by a prefix that indicates the
administrative class or type of registration. For example, case number
12345678 for a performing arts work would become PA12345678, if
registered. To further simplify the registration process, the Office
will also retire correspondence identification numbers.
(D) Digital Deposits
In the 2018 NOI, the Office requested comment on whether applicants
should be permitted to submit electronic deposit copies, phonorecords,
or identifying materials, rather than physical copies or phonorecords,
unless the Office requests a physical copy.\116\ While commenters
expressed general support for providing greater flexibility in
complying with deposit requirements, the comments raised a number of
concerns. The Library of Congress's Library Services unit expressed
concern over the potential effect of such a change on Library
collections. Noting that ``[t]he Library depends on the continuing flow
of items acquired via Copyright deposit to help build its collection,''
it noted that ``implementation of this strategy would require that a
duplicative process be established to obtain deposit copies for the
Library's collection.'' \117\ Subsequently, in response to a question
raised by the Senate Judiciary's IP Subcommittee, the Librarian of
Congress noted that ``a change to a default digital deposit requirement
would critically affect our ability to serve some of our
[[Page 12712]]
largest user groups, either by not meeting their preferences or by
denying service altogether.'' \118\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\116\ 83 FR at 52344-45.
\117\ Library of Congress Library Services Comments, at 1-2
(Jan. 15, 2019).
\118\ Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, Responses to
Questions for the Record, Subcomm. on Intell. Prop. of the S. Comm.
on the Judiciary at 3-4 (Jan. 7, 2020), https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Hayden%20Responses%20to%20QFRs.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other commenters representing copyright owner interests raised
potential security concerns. For example, the Copyright Alliance
pointed to the possibility of cyberattacks resulting in unauthorized
access to deposit copies.\119\ AAP stated that ``[p]ublishers would
welcome a registration deposit regime that is less burdensome, but only
if it is operated in a wholly secure IT system and kept wholly separate
from the collections of the Library and its access or interlibrary
lending or surplus books policies.'' \120\ In its view, such changes
are ``premature and will remain so until the Copyright Office is
permitted and able to develop the necessary IT systems and security.''
\121\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\119\ Copyright Alliance Comments, at 25.
\120\ AAP Comments, at 2.
\121\ Id. at 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Copyright Office is committed to pursuing any updates to the
registration deposit system in a reasonable and conscientious manner.
At the same time, due to the wide variety of expressive works that can
be registered, spanning physical and digital formats, from individual
to large corporate authors, the ECS must be designed in a manner to
accommodate submission of both physical and electronic deposits.\122\
Under the current framework, the Office has recently noted that ``[a]ny
future expansion of electronic deposits to additional categories of
works will require careful consideration of several factors, including
the Library's collection needs, technological capabilities, and
security and access issues.'' \123\ Meanwhile, the Office notes that
these issues may overlap with ongoing legislative discussion.\124\ The
Office therefore has concluded that consideration of changes to the
deposit requirements are beyond the scope of this current notice. As
noted, however, the Office and the Library will work collaboratively to
develop alternative deposit options ``that appropriately balance
security with ease of use. These kinds of important issues will be
addressed using transparent processes that invite public comment and
participation.'' \125\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\122\ The current statutory default instructs owners to submit a
deposit of a complete copy of the work and, for works published in
the U.S., the best edition of that work (unless regulations permit
the deposit of alternate identifying material). 17 U.S.C. 407, 408;
83 FR at 52344. But the statute does not compel authors or
publishers to create a special copy for the purpose of copyright
registration or to fulfill the separate obligation under section
407. See Mandatory Deposit of Electronic-Only Books, 83 FR 16269,
16274 (notice of proposed rulemaking).
\123\ Jody Harry, Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Copyright
Office, Responses to Questions for the Record, Subcomm. on Intell.
Prop. of the S. Comm. on the Judiciary at 13 (Dec. 17, 2019),
https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Harry%20Responses%20to%20QFRs.pdf.
\124\ Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, Responses to
Questions for the Record, Subcomm. on Intell. Prop. of the S. Comm.
on the Judiciary at 3 (Jan. 7, 2020), https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Hayden%20Responses%20to%20QFRs.pdf (responding to question about
draft legislation on the deposit requirement).
\125\ Id.; see also id. at 4 (``The Library would like to work
closely with the Copyright Office to update the best edition
statement on a consistent and regular basis.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Additional Subjects of Inquiry
In addition to the foregoing practice changes, the Office is
continuing to consider additional issues raised in the 2018 NOI and now
seeks further comment on the following topics.
(A) The Rights and Permissions Field
Presently, at the conclusion of an online registration application,
the applicant is asked to provide Rights and Permissions information,
which may include ``the name, address, and other contact information
for the person and/or organization that should be contacted for
permission to use the work.'' \126\ Currently, applicants may provide
only one name and address. This information appears in the online
public record for the work to facilitate licensing and similar
transactions.\127\ Once a certificate of registration is issued,
interested parties may update the Rights and Permissions information by
either (1) requesting that the Office remove certain personally
identifiable information from the online public record and replace it
with substitute information,\128\ or (2) submitting an application for
a supplementary registration.\129\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\126\ Compendium (Third) sec. 622.1. There is no corresponding
space for providing Rights and Permissions information in a paper
application.
\127\ Id.
\128\ 37 CFR 201.2(e)(1); Compendium (Third) sec. 622.1. See
generally Removal of Personally Identifiable Information from
Registration Records, 82 FR 9004 (Feb. 2, 2017) (final rule).
\129\ 37 CFR 202.6(d), (e); Compendium (Third) sec. 1802.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To achieve a more flexible amendment process, the 2018 NOI proposed
allowing users to update Rights and Permissions information, as
necessary, without having to submit a formal written removal request
and fee and without having to seek a supplementary registration.\130\
The overwhelming majority of commenters supported this proposal.\131\
AALL noted that it would ``better ensure that the information remains
up-to-date, thereby reducing the risk of a work becoming an orphan
work, encouraging proper attribution by others, and facilitating users
[in] properly obtaining permission or a license to use a work.'' \132\
Authors Alliance similarly noted that ``the costs associated with
updating the Rights and Permissions field discourages users from
updating contact information, leading to inaccurate records and
contributing to the orphan works problem.'' \133\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\130\ 83 FR at 52341-42.
\131\ ABA-IPL Comments, at 6 (``[T]he Section supports allowing
registrants to update the Rights and Permissions information for
their works posted on the public record in a simplified manner'');
AIPLA Comments, at 5 (``AIPLA supports allowing authorized users to
make changes to this field''); Authors Alliance Comments, at 4
(``Authors Alliance supports the Office's efforts to build a
registration interface that allows users to update Rights and
Permissions information without having to submit a supplementary
registration together with the associated fee''); INTA Comments, at
9 (``INTA strongly supports making the Online Public Record a more
dynamic system by allowing authorized representatives to update
rights and permission information''); NMA Comments, at 5 (``The
Alliance supports the proposal to allow authorized users to make
changes to the Rights and Permissions field in a completed
registration'').
\132\ AALL Comments, at 3.
\133\ Authors Alliance Comments, at 4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
While there was general support for this proposed change, several
commenters noted the importance of implementing a corresponding method
for authenticating or confirming the identity of registrants,
assignees, or their authorized representatives. RIAA stated there must
be ``robust security and authentication surrounding the authorized
user's credentials and access to the registration database.'' \134\
Likewise, the Copyright Alliance suggested that ``[t]he ability to make
these changes should be restricted to accounts belonging to the rights
holder (including a previous rights holder's verified successor in
interest) or their agent'' to protect ``rights holders and users of the
public record from fraud, misrepresentation, inadvertent mistakes and
unauthorized changes to the record by third parties.'' \135\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\134\ RIAA Comments, at 6.
\135\ Copyright Alliance Comments, at 19.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In principle, the Office agrees that the ECS should be designed to
encourage copyright owners to keep their contact information up to
date, including in cases of transfer, and also that security and access
controls will be key to implementing self-service edits.\136\ The
[[Page 12713]]
Office seeks additional stakeholder feedback on how the ECS might
administer such a service. Specifically, what eligibility criteria
should be considered in evaluating the parties seeking to edit Rights
and Permissions information? Should this service be limited to users
with access to the account through which the original registration was
made, or should those users be able to consent or transfer account
authorizations associated with individual registrations? Should this
service be limited to parties named on the registration certificate and
their authorized agents? The Office also seeks stakeholder feedback on
whether to expand the Rights and Permissions field to allow users to
provide more than one name and address. The Office will share this
information with the OCIO to explore technological feasibility, and
both the Office and the OCIO have committed to facilitating
communication and outreach with users of the prospective system.
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\136\ The option to edit Rights and Permissions information will
not affect the recordation of documents pertaining to copyright.
Rights and Permissions information is limited to contact information
(e.g., mailing and/or email addresses).
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(B) Additional Data
The 2018 NOI invited comment on what additional data could or
should be included in the online registration record on a voluntary
basis in order to enhance the functionality and value of the
system.\137\ The 2018 NOI noted that the current system already allows
applicants to include a number of unique identifiers, including an
International Standard Book Number (``ISBN''), International Standard
Recording Code (``ISRC''), International Standard Serial Number
(``ISSN''), International Standard Audiovisual Number (``ISAN''),
International Standard Music Number (``ISMN''), International Standard
Musical Work Code (``ISWC''), International Standard Text Code
(``ISTC''), or Entertainment Identifier Registry number
(``EIDR'').\138\ The 2018 NOI inquired whether the Office should
consider expanding the number of unique identifiers that may be
included on an application, requiring inclusion of unique identifiers
if they have been assigned, or establishing a procedure for adding
unique identifiers to completed registration records, similar to the
proposed procedure for updating the Rights and Permission field.\139\
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\137\ 83 FR at 52342.
\138\ Id.
\139\ Id.
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Commenters were in favor of having the option to submit additional
data as part of the registration application, as long as adding such
information is not made mandatory.\140\ Commenters were also in favor
of being able to provide unique identifiers to pending and completed
registration records, on an optional basis.\141\ The Office agrees that
any new requests for information should not be mandatory. Recognizing
that certain standard identifiers may not always be available at the
time of the registration application, the Office also appreciates the
desire to add identifiers to the record after submission of a
registration application, provided the online public record identifies
when such amendments are made to completed registration records. The
acceptance of post-registration unique identifiers would seem to
potentially raise eligibility questions similarly presented with post-
registration updates to the rights and permissions field, discussed
above. Subject to additional public comment, the Office will work with
the OCIO to explore the best ways to enable these types of voluntary
submissions in the ECS.
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\140\ See ABA-IPL Comments, at 6; AIPLA Comments, at 6; AAP
Comments, at 7; AMI Comments, at 7; Copyright Alliance Comments, at
20; Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. Comments, at 2 (Jan. 14, 2019);
GAG Comments, at 8; INTA Comments, at 9; Shaftel & Schmelzer
Comments, at 17 (Jan. 11, 2019).
\141\ See Copyright Alliance Comments, at 20; INTA Comments, at
9; MPAA Comments, at 10.
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In addition, the Office sought comment on whether it should allow
applicants to voluntarily upload public-facing deposit material, such
as low-resolution images or sound bites, as part of the registration
application.\142\ The option to include this information would be
additive of the existing registration deposit requirement. Such public-
facing material might assist in the identification of a work to serve
licensing, or even enforcement, purposes. Commenters generally were
supportive of this proposal. INTA opined that ``developing a more
robust Online Public Record through the uploading of these images and
clips will be beneficial by enhancing recognition of the work
registered and will also aid in the licensing of those works.'' \143\
NMPA observed that ``[a]llowing applicants to include small sound bites
of their works in their application could improve the public record and
assist the public in identifying copyright owners.'' \144\ Public
Knowledge (``PK'') and the Association of Real Estate Photographers
(``AREP'') suggested that ``[i]mplementing reverse image search
capabilities . . . --and linking those results to rightsholder
information--would prov[ide] significant benefits for both users and
rightsholders.'' \145\ Noting that ``[t[he technology to search by
images . . . is widely commercially available,'' PK and AREP stated
that the ability to ``reverse image search existing registrations would
assist photographers . . . in protecting their rights online.'' \146\
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\142\ 83 FR at 52342.
\143\ INTA Comments, at 9-10.
\144\ NMPA Comments, at 15.
\145\ PK & AREP Comments, at 3 (Jan. 15, 2019).
\146\ Id.
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Other commenters, however, noted that there may be complications in
accepting low-resolution or incomplete deposits. Specifically, RIAA
argued that collecting sound clips ``would create additional burdens
(including, but not limited to, the need to provide ever expanding
storage resources for clips) on the Office with, at best, marginal
increased utility.'' \147\ It also expressed concern that ``the
collection and inclusion of sound clips in the Office's registration
database could turn the database into a de facto, on-demand streaming
service that would effectively compete against commercial services
licensed by our member companies.'' \148\
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\147\ RIAA Comments, at 6-7.
\148\ Id. at 7.
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Still others discussed the availability of technology to create
low-resolution or incomplete copies. For example, ImageRights suggested
that there would be ``little point in asking users to provide'' low-
resolution images and sound bites because they ``can be created
sufficiently well in an automated way.'' \149\ GiantSteps Media
Technology Strategies suggested that the Office use digital finger
printing technology to ``allow registrants to deposit digital
fingerprints of works, perhaps in addition to low-resolution images,
audio clips, and the like.'' \150\
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\149\ ImageRights Comments, at 8.
\150\ GiantSteps Media Technology Strategies Comments, at 3
(Jan. 15, 2019).
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To more fully explore these issues, the Office is interested in
receiving additional input on whether and how the new ECS might be
designed to include the option to deposit low-resolution or incomplete
copies of works for the online public record. Are there certain
available technologies that should be considered to automate creation
of lower-resolution or shortened clips works to be made available to
the public for identification purposes but that would not serve as a
substitute for the work? Should the Office establish specifications,
such as a 15-second limit on sound clips, or a specific resolution
format, with respect to the acceptance of additional, voluntarily
submitted data, to minimize interactions with licensing markets? Should
this feature be preliminarily
[[Page 12714]]
explored in a pilot limited to certain type(s) of works, and if so,
which type(s)?
The Office invites comment on any additional considerations it
should take into account relating to these topics.
Dated: February 28, 2020.
Regan A. Smith,
General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights.
[FR Doc. 2020-04435 Filed 3-2-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-30-P