[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 17USC704]
TITLE 17--COPYRIGHTS
CHAPTER 7--COPYRIGHT OFFICE
Sec. 704. Retention and disposition of articles deposited in
Copyright Office
(a) Upon their deposit in the Copyright Office under sections 407
and 408, all copies, phonorecords, and identifying material, including
those deposited in connection with claims that have been refused
registration, are the property of the United States Government.
(b) In the case of published works, all copies, phonorecords, and
identifying material deposited are available to the Library of Congress
for its collections, or for exchange or transfer to any other library.
In the case of unpublished works, the Library is entitled, under
regulations that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe, to select
any deposits for its collections or for transfer to the National
Archives of the United States or to a Federal records center, as defined
in section 2901 of title 44.
(c) The Register of Copyrights is authorized, for specific or
general categories of works, to make a facsimile reproduction of all or
any part of the material deposited under section 408, and to make such
reproduction a part of the Copyright Office records of the registration,
before transferring such material to the Library of Congress as provided
by subsection (b), or before destroying or otherwise disposing of such
material as provided by subsection (d).
(d) Deposits not selected by the Library under subsection (b), or
identifying portions or reproductions of them, shall be retained under
the control of the Copyright Office, including retention in Government
storage facilities, for the longest period considered practicable and
desirable by the Register of Copyrights and the Librarian of Congress.
After that period it is within the joint discretion of the Register and
the Librarian to order their destruction or other disposition; but, in
the case of unpublished works, no deposit shall be knowingly or
intentionally destroyed or otherwise disposed of during its term of
copyright unless a facsimile reproduction of the entire deposit has been
made a part of the Copyright Office records as provided by subsection
(c).
(e) The depositor of copies, phonorecords, or identifying material
under section 408, or the copyright owner of record, may request
retention, under the control of the Copyright Office, of one or more of
such articles for the full term of copyright in the work. The Register
of Copyrights shall prescribe, by regulation, the conditions under which
such requests are to be made and granted, and shall fix the fee to be
charged under section 708(a)(10) if the reque
