37 C.F.R. § 202.3 Registration of copyright.
Title 37 - Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights
(a) General. (1) This section prescribes conditions for the registration of copyright, and the application to be made for registration under sections 408 and 409 of title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by Pub. L. 94–553. (2) For the purposes of this section, the terms audiovisual work, compilation, copy, derivative work, device, fixation, literary work, motion picture, phonorecord, pictorial, graphic and sculptural works, process, sound recording, and their variant forms, have the meanings set forth in section 101 of title 17. The term author includes an employer or other person for whom a work is “made for hire” under section 101 of title 17. (3) For the purposes of this section, a copyright claimant is either: (i) The author of a work; (ii) A person or organization that has obtained ownership of all rights under the copyright initially belonging to the author.1 1 This category includes a person or organization that has obtained, from the author or from an entity that has obtained ownership of all rights under the copyright initially belonging to the author, the contractual right to claim legal title to the copyright in an application for copyright registration. (b) Administrative classification and application forms—(1) Classes of works. For the purpose of registration, the Register of Copyrights has prescribed the classes of works in which copyright may be claimed. These classes, and examples of works which they include, are as follows: (i) Class TX: Nondramatic literary works. This class includes all published and unpublished nondramatic literary works. Examples: Fiction; nonfiction; poetry; textbooks; reference works; directories; catalogs; advertising copy; and compilations of information. (ii) Class PA: Works of the performing arts. This class includes all published and unpublished works prepared for the purpose of being performed directly before an audience or indirectly by means of a device or process. Examples: Musical works, including any accompanying words; dramatic works, including any accompanying music; pantomimes and choreographic works; and motion pictures and other audiovisual works. (iii) Class VA: Works of the visual arts. This class includes all published and unpublished pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works. Examples: Two dimensional and three dimensional works of the fine, graphic, and applied arts; photographs; prints and art reproductions; maps, globes, and charts; technical drawings, diagrams, and models; and pictorial or graphic labels and advertisements. (iv) Class SR: Sound recordings. This class includes all published and unpublished sound recordings fixed on and after February 15, 1972. Claims to copyright in literary, dramatic, and musical works embodied in phonorecords may also be registered in this class under paragraph (b)(3) of this section if: (A) Registration is sought on the same application for both a recorded literary, dramatic, or musical work and a sound recording; (B) The recorded literary, dramatic, or musical work and the sound recording are embodied in the same phonorecord; and (C) The same claimant is seeking registration of both the recorded literary, dramatic, or musical work and the sound recording. (v) Class SE: Serials. A serial is a work issued or intended to be issued in successive parts bearing numerical or chronological designations and intended to be continued indefinitely. This class includes periodicals; newspapers; annuals; and the journals, proceedings, transactions, etc. of societies. (2) Application forms. For the purpose of registration, The Register of Copyrights has prescribed the basic forms to be used for all applications submitted on and after January 1, 1978. Each form corresponds to a class set forth in paragraph (b)(1) of this section and is so designated (“Form TX”; “Form PA”; “Form VA”; “Form SR”; “Form SE”; and “Form SE/Group”). Copies of the forms are available free upon request to the Public Information Office, Library of Congress, Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20559-6000. Applications should be submitted in the class most appropriate to the nature of the authorship in which copyright is claimed. In the case of contributions to collective works, applications should be submitted in the class representing the copyrightable authorship in the contribution. In the case of derivative works, applications should be submitted in the class most appropriately representing the copyrightable authorship involved in recasting, transforming, adapting, or otherwise modifying the preexisting work. In cases where a work contains elements of authorship in which copyright is claimed which fall into two or more classes, the application should be submitted in the class most appropriate to the type of authorship that predominates in the work as a whole. However, in any case where registration is sought for a work consisting of or including a sound recording in which copyright is claimed2 2 A sound recording does not include the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work (17 U.S.C. 101). For this purpose, “accompanying” does not require physical integration in the same copy. Accordingly, registration may be made for a motion picture or audiovisual kit in Class PA and that registration will cover the sounds embodied in the “sound track” of the motion picture or on disks, tapes, or the like included in the kit. Separate application in Class SR is not appropriate for these elements. (3) Registration as a single work. (i) For the purpose of registration on a single application and upon payment of a single registration fee, the following shall be considered a single work: (A) In the case of published works: all copyrightable elements that are otherwise recognizable as self-contained works, that are included in a single unit of publication, and in which the copyright claimant is the same; and (B) In the case of unpublished works: all copyrightable elements that are otherwise recognizable as self-contained works, and are combined in a single unpublished “collection.” For these purposes, a combination of such elements shall be considered a “collection” if: (1) The elements are assembled in an orderly form; (2) The combined elements bear a single title identifying the collection as a whole; (3) The copyright claimant in all of the elements, and in the collection as a whole, is the same; and (4) All of the elements are by the same author, or, if they are by different authors, at least one of the authors has contributed copyrightable authorship to each element. Registration of an unpublished “collection” extends to each copyrightable element in the collection and to the authorship, if any, involved in selecting and assembling the collection. (ii) In the case of applications for registration made under paragraphs (b)(3) through (b)(8) of this section, the “year in which creation of this work was completed”, as called for by the application, means the latest year in which the creation of any copyrightable element was completed. (4) Group registration of related works: Automated databases. (i) Pursuant to the authority granted by section 408(c)(1) of title 17 of the United States Code, the Register of Copyrights has determined that, on the basis of a single application, deposit, and filing fee, a single registration may be made for automated databases and their updates or other derivative versions that are original works of authorship, if, where a database (or updates or other revisions thereof), if unpublished, is (or are) fixed, or if published is (or are) published only in the form of machine-readable copies, all of the following conditions are met: (A) All of the updates or other revisions are owned by the same copyright claimant; (B) All of the updates or other revisions have the same general title; (C) All of the updates or other revisions are similar in their general content, including their subject; (D) All of the updates or other revisions are similar in their organization; (E) Each of the updates or other revisions as a whole, if published before March 1, 1989, bears a statutory copyright notice as first published and the name of the owner of copyright in each work (or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner) was the same in each notice; (F) Each of the updates or other revisions if published was first published, or if unpublished was first created, within a three-month period in a single calendar year; and (G) The deposit accompanying the application complies with §202.20(c)(2)(vii)(D). (ii) A single registration may be made on one application for both a database published on a single date, or if unpublished, created on a single date, and also for its copyrightable revisions, including updates covering a three-month period in a single calendar year. An application for group registration of automated databases under section 408(c)(1) of title 17 and this subsection shall consist of: (A) A Form TX, completed in accordance with the basic instructions on the form and the Special Instructions for Group Registration of an Automated Database and its Updates or Revisions; (B) The appropriate filing fee, as required in §201.3(c); and (C) The deposit required by §202.20(c)(2)(vii)(D). (5) Group registration of related serials. (i) Pursuant to the authority granted by section 408(c)(1) of title 17 of the United States Code, the Register of Copyrights has determined that, on the basis of a single application, deposit, and filing fee, a single registration may be made for a group of serials published at intervals of a week or longer if all the following conditions are met: (A) The Library of Congress receives two complimentary copies promptly after publication of each issue of the serial. (B) The single application covers no more than the issues published in a given three month period. (C) The claim to copyright for which registration is sought is in the collective work. (D) The collective work authorship is essentially new material that is being published for the first time. (E) The collective work is a work made for hire. (F) The author(s) and claimant(s) of the collective work is the same person(s) or organization(s). (G) Each issue must have been created no more than one year prior to publication and all issues included in the group registration must have been published in the same calendar year. (ii) To be eligible for group registration of serials, publishers must submit a letter affirming that two complimentary subscriptions to the particular serial have been entered for the Library of Congress. The letter should be sent to Library of Congress, Group Periodicals Registration, Washington, DC 20540–4161. (iii) The complimentary subscription copies must be addressed to: Group Periodicals Registration, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540–4161. (iv) The Register of Copyrights may revoke the privilege of group registration of serials for any publisher who fails to submit the required complimentary subscription copies promptly after publication of each issue. Notice of revocation of the group registration of serials privilege shall be given in writing and shall be sent to the individual person or organization applying for group registration of serials, at the last address shown in the records of the Copyright Office. A notice of revocation may be given at any time if the requirements of the regulation are not satisfied, but it shall state a specific date of revocation that is at least 30 days later than the date the notice is mailed. (v) To apply for group registration of serials under section 408(c)(1) of title 17 and this subsection, the following items must be sent together in the same package: (A) A completed Form SE/Group, giving the requested information. (B) The appropriate filing fee, as required in §201.3(c), for each issue covered by the group registration. (C) A deposit consisting of one complete copy of the best edition of each issue included in the group registration. (6) Group registration of daily newspapers. (i) Pursuant to the authority granted by 17 U.S.C. 408(c)(1), the Register of Copyrights has determined that, on the basis of a single application, microfilm deposit, and filing fee, a single registration may be made for a group of daily newspapers published in a microfilm format if the following conditions are met: (A) Registration covers a full month of issues of the same newspaper title published with issue dates in one calendar month. (B) A completed GDN application form is submitted. (C) A publication date is specified designating the first and last day that issues in the group were published. (D) A deposit is made of positive, 35mm silver halide microfilm meeting the Library's best edition criteria that includes all issues published as final editions in the designated calendar month. In addition to the final edition of the daily newspaper, the claim to copyright and the deposit may also include earlier editions published the same day in a given metropolitan area served by the newspaper, but may not include national or regional editions distributed beyond a given metropolitan area. (E) The appropriate filing fee, as required in §201.3(c), is included with the submission or charged to an active deposit account. (F) Registration is sought within three months after the publication date of the last issue included in the group. (ii) As used in this regulation, newspapers means serials which are classified as newspapers under the policy document “Newspapers Received Currently in the Library of Congress,”which is administered by the Newspaper Section of the Serials & Government Publications Division of the Library of Congress. In general, serials classified as newspapers are serials mainly designed to be a primary source of written information on current events, either local, national, or international in scope. A newspaper contains a broad range of news on all subjects and activities and is not limited to any specific subject matter. Newspapers are intended either for the general public or for a particular ethnic, cultural, or national group. (7) Group registration of contributions to periodicals. (i) As provided by section 408(c)(2) of title 17 of the United States Code, as amended by Pub. L. 94–553, a single registration, on the basis of a single application, deposit, and registration fee, may be made for a group of works if all of the following conditions are met: (A) All of the works are by the same author; (B) The author of each work is an individual, and not an employer or other person for whom the work was made for hire; (C) Each of the works was first published as a contribution to a periodical (including newspapers) within a twelve-month period;3 3 This does not require that each of the works must have been first published during the same calendar year; it does require that, to be grouped in a single application, the earliest and latest contributions must not have been first published more than twelve months apart. (D) Each of the works, if first published before March 1, 1989, bore a separate copyright notice, and the name of the owner of copyright in each work (or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner) was the same in each notice; and (E) The deposit accompanying the application must consist of one of the following: one copy of the entire issue of the periodical, or, in the case of a newspaper, the entire section containing the contribution; tear sheets or proof copies of the contribution; a photocopy of the contribution itself, or a photocopy of the entire page containing the contribution; the entire page containing the contribution cut or torn from the collective work; the contribution cut or torn from the collective work; or photographs or photographic slides of the contribution or entire page containing the contribution as long as all contents of the contribution to be registered are clear and legible. (ii) An application for group registration under section 408(c)(2) of title 17 and paragraph (b)(7) of this section shall consist of: (A) A basic application for registration on Form TX, Form PA, or Form VA,4 4 The basic application should be filed in the class appropriate to the nature of authorship in the majority of the contributions. However, if any of the contributions consists preponderantly of nondramatic literary material that is in the English language, the basic application for the entire group should be submitted on Form TX. (B) An adjunct form prescribed by the Copyright Office and designated “Adjunct Application for Copyright Registration for a Group of Contributions to Periodicals (Form GR/CP)”, which shall contain the information required by the form and its accompanying instructions; and (C) The appropriate filing fee, as required in §201.3(c), and the deposit required by paragraph (b)(7)(i)(E) of this section. (8) Group registration of daily newsletters. Pursuant to the authority granted by 17 U.S.C. 408(c)(1), the Register of Copyrights has determined that, on the basis of a single application, deposit, and filing fee, a single registration may be made for a group of two or more issues of a daily newsletter if the following conditions are met: (i) As used in this regulation, daily newsletter means a serial published and distributed by mail or electronic media (online or telefacsimile), or in any medium including but not limited to, paper, cassette tape, diskette or CD-ROM. Publication must occur on at least two days each week and the newsletter must contain news or information of interest chiefly to a special group (for example, trade and professional associations, corporate in-house groups, schools, colleges, or churches). (ii) The works must be essentially all new collective works or all new issues that have not been published before. (iii) Each issue must be a work made for hire. (iv) The author(s) and claimant(s) must be the same person(s) or organization(s) for all of the issues. (v) All the items in the group must bear issue dates within a single calendar month under the same continuing title. (vi) Deposit. (A). The deposit for newsletters registered under this section is one complete copy of each issue included in the group. (B). In addition, if requested in writing by the Copyright Acquisitions Division before an application for registration is submitted, the claimant must give the Library of Congress whichever of the following the Library prefers: either as many as two complimentary subscriptions of the newsletter in the edition most suitable to the Library's needs, or a single positive, 35 mm silver halide microfilm meeting the Library's best edition criteria that includes all issues published as final editions in the designated calendar month. Subscription copies must be delivered to the separate address specified by the Copyright Acquisitions Division in its request. Subscription copies or a microfilm are not required unless expressly requested by the Copyright Acquisitions Division. (C) The copyright owner of any newsletter that cannot meet the criteria set out in this section may continue to register on Form SE or Short Form SE. (vii) Registration is sought within three months after the publication date of the last issue included in the group. (viii) A Form G/DN shall be submitted for daily newsletters bearing issue dates within a single month, together with one copy of each issue, and a filing fee. The application shall designate the first and last day that issues in the group were published. (9) Group registration of published photographs. Pursuant to the authority granted by 17 U.S.C. 408(c)(1), the Register of Copyrights will accept a single application (on Form VA), deposit and filing fee for registration of a group of photographs if the following conditions are met: (i) The copyright claimant in all of the photographs must be the same. (ii) The photographer who photographed each of the photographs submitted for registration as part of the group must be the same person. (iii) The photographs in the group must have been published within the same calendar year. (iv) If the photographs in a group were all published on the same date, the date of publication must be identified in space 3b of the application. If the photographs in a group were not all published on the same date, the range of dates of publication (e.g., February 15–September 15, 2004) must be provided in space 3b of the application, and the date of publication of each photograph within the group must be identified either: (A) On each deposited image; (B) In a text file on the CD–ROM or DVD that contains the deposited photographic images; (C) On a list that accompanies the deposit and provides the publication date for each image; or (D) On a special continuation sheet provided by the Copyright Office. Dates of publication must be provided in a way that clearly identifies the date of publication for each individual photograph in the group. (v) If the applicant chooses to identify the date of publication for each photograph in the group on a continuation sheet, the application may include no more than 50 continuation sheets identifying no more than 750 photographs. For these purposes, the applicant must use the special continuation sheet for registration of a group of photographs made available by the Copyright Office. (vi) If each photograph within the group was first published within three months before the date on which an acceptable application, an acceptable deposit, and the applicable fee are received in the Copyright Office, the applicant may, in lieu of the procedure set forth in paragraph (b)(9)(iv) of this section, simply state the range of dates of publication (e.g., February 15–May 15, 2001) in space 3b of the application, without specifically identifying the date of publication of each photograph in the group either on the deposited image or on a continuation sheet. (vii) The deposit(s) and application must be accompanied by the fee set forth in §201.3(c) of this chapter for a basic registration. (viii) The applicant must state “Group Registration/Photos” and state the approximate number of photographs included in the group in space 1 of the application Form VA under the heading “Previous or Alternative Titles” (e.g., “Group Registration/Photos; app. 450 photographs”). (ix) If the photographs in the group are works made for hire, the applicant must note, as part of the applicant's entry in space 2 of the application Form VA for “Name of Author,” both the name of the employer for hire and the name of the photographer who photographed the works in the group (e.g., “XYZ Corporation, employer for hire of John Doe”). (x) As an alternative to the best edition of the work, one copy of each photograph shall be submitted in one of the formats set forth in §202.20(c)(2)(xx). (10) One registration per work. As a general rule only one copyright registration can be made for the same version of a particular work. However: (i) Where a work has been registered as unpublished, another registration may be made for the first published edition of the work, even if it does not represent a new version; (ii) Where someone other than the author is identified as copyright claimant in a registration, another registration for the same version may be made by the author in his or her own name as copyright claimant;5 5 An author includes an employer or other person for whom a work is “made for hire” under 17 U.S.C. 101. This paragraph does not permit an employee or other person working “for hire” under that section to make a later registration in his or her own name. In the case of authors of a joint work, this paragraph does permit a later registration by one author in his or her own name as copyright claimant, where an earlier registration identifies only another author as claimant. (iii) Where an applicant for registration alleges that an earlier registration for the same version is unauthorized and legally invalid, a registration may be made by that applicant; and (iv) Supplementary registrations may be made, under the conditions of §201.5 of these regulations, to correct or amplify the information in a registration made under this section. (c) Application for registration. (1) An application for copyright registration may be submitted by any author or other copyright claimant of a work, or the owner of any exclusive right in a work, or the duly authorized agent of any such author, other claimant, or owner. (2) An application for copyright registration shall be submitted on the appropriate form prescribed by the Register of Copyrights under paragraph (b) of this section, and shall be accompanied by the appropriate filing fee, as required in §201.3(c), and the deposit required under 17 U.S.C. 408 and §202.20 of these regulations.6 6 In the case of applications for group registration of newspapers, contributions to periodicals, and newsletters, under paragraphs (b)(6), (b)(7), and (b)(8) of this section, the deposits shall comply with the deposits specified in the respective paragraphs, and the fees with those specified in §201.3. (i) A designation of whether the applicant is the author of, or other copyright claimant or owner of exclusive rights in, the work, or the duly authorized agent of such author, other claimant, or owner (whose identity shall also be given); (ii) The handwritten signature of such author, other claimant, owner, or agent, accompanied by the typed or printed name of that person; (iii) A declaration that the statements made in the application are correct to the best of that person's knowledge; and (iv) The date of certification. An application for registration of a published work will not be accepted if the date of certification is earlier than the date of publication given in the application. (Pub. L. 94–553; secs. 408, 409, 410, 702) [43 FR 966, Jan. 5, 1978] Editorial Note: For
Title 37: Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights
PART 202—PREREGISTRATION AND REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO COPYRIGHT
§ 202.3 Registration of copyright.
