Compendium II: Copyright Office Practices - Chapter 700

Chapter 700

 

APPLICATIONS AND FEES

 

Outline of Topics

 

701 Application forms.

 

701.01 Statutory authorization.

701.02 Statutory requirements.

 

702 Basic application forms.

 

702.01 Class TX, Form TX: Nondramatic Literary Works

Other Than Serials.

702.02 Class TX, Form SE: Serials.

702.03 Class PA, Form PA: Works of the Performing Arts.

702.04 Class VA, Form VA: Works of the Visual Arts.

702.05 Class SR, Form SR: Sound Recordings.

 

703 Renewal application: Form RE.

 

704 Registration forms for special cases.

 

704.01 Form CA: Supplementary Registration.

704.02 Form GR/CP: Group Registration for Contribu-

tions to Periodicals.

 

705 Import Statement.

 

705.01 Form IS: Request for Issuance of an Import

Statement.

 

706 Submission of material.

 

707 Quality and legibility of application forms.

 

707.01 Only application forms issued by the Copyright

Office may be used.

707.02 Information given on the application forms

should be typewritten or legibly printed in

black ink.

 

708 Selection of most appropriate application form.

 

708.01 Nature of authorship determinative.

708.02 Two forms seem appropriate: song lyrics,

speeches, and other works prepared for oral

delivery.

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[1984]

 

 

Chapter 700

APPLICATIONS AND FEES

Outline of Topics                                   -2 –

 

703 Selection of most appropriate application form.

(cont'd)

 

708.03 Contributions to collective works.

708.04 Derivative works.

708.05 Works in which the claim includes two or more

categories of authorship.

 

709 Classification for administrative purposes only.

 

[Numbers 710 through 749 are reserved.]

 

750 Fees.

 

750.01 Applicability of fees to U.S. Government.

750.02 Refunds.

 

Effective date of fee schedule under the current Act.

 

752 Submission of registration fees.

 

753 Form of payment.

 

753.01 Currency.

753.02 Fees remitted from outside the United States or

made payable in foreign currency.

 

754 Deposit Accounts.

 

754.01 Minimum requirements for Deposit Accounts.

 

755 Cancellation of registration in cases of dishonored checks.

 

756 Fees not specified in section 708 of the current

Act.

 

[1984]

 

 

Chapter 700

APPLICATIONS AND FEES

701 Application forms. The following are the statutory

provisions relating to the application forms.

 

701.01 Statutory authorization. The Register of Copy-

rights is authorized to specify by regulation

the administrative classes into which works are

to be placed for purposes of deposit and regis-

tration. This administrative classification of

works has no significance with respect to the

subject matter of copyright or the exclusive

rights provided by the copyright law. See 17

U.S.C. 408(c)(I).

 

701.02 Statutory requirements. Section 409 of the

copyright law specifies that the application for

copyright registration shall be made on a form

prescribed by the Register of copyrights and

that it shall include:

 

1) the name and address of the copyright claim-

ant;

 

2) in the case of a work other than an anony-

mous or pseudonymous work, the name and

nationality or nation of domicile of the

author or authors, and, if one or more of

the authors is dead, the dates of their

deaths;

 

3) if the work is anonymous or pseudonymous,

the nationality or nation of domicile of

the author or authors;

 

4) in the case of a work made for hire, a

statement to the effect that it is such a

work;

 

5) if the copyright claimant is not the au-

thor, a brief statement of how the claimant

obtained ownership of the copyright;

 

6) the title of the work, together with any

previous or alternative titles under which

the work can be identified.

 

700-1

 

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700-2

 

1) Application forms. (cont'd)

 

701.02 Statutory requirements. (cont'd)

 

7) the year in which creation of the work was

completed;

 

8) if the work has been published, the date

and nation of its first publication;

 

9) in the case of a compilation or derivative

work, an identification of any preexisting

work or works that it is based on or incor-

porates, and a brief, general statement of

the additional material covered by the

copyright claim being registered;

 

10) in the case of a published work containing

material of which copies are required by

section 601 of the current Act to be manu-

factured in the United States, the names of

the persons or organizations who performed

the processes specified by subsection (c)

of section 601 with respect to that mate-

rial, and the places where those processes

were performed; and

 

11) any other information regarded by the Reg-

ister of Copyrights as bearing upon the

preparation or identification of the work

or the existence, ownership, or duration of

the copyright.

 

702 Basic application forms. Pursuant to the statutory

authority given to the Register of Copyrights, the

Copyright Office has established basic classes for

original registrations with corresponding application

forms. These classes are as follows:

 

702.01 Class TX, Form TX: Nondramatic Literary Works Other

Than Serials. This category includes published and

unpublished nondramatic literary works. Examples

include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, textbooks,

reference works, directories, catalogs, advertising

copy, computer programs, and compilations of infor-

mation, including data bases.

 

[1984]

 

 

700-3

 

Basic application forms. (cont'd)

 

702.02 Class TX, Form SE: Serials. A serial is defined

as a work issued or intended to be issued in

successive parts bearing numerical or chrono-

logical designations and intended to be con-

tinued indefinitely, such as periodicals,

newspapers, annuals, journals, and proceedings

of societies.

 

NOTE: A contribution to a serial is not registered

on Form SE. See section 708.01 below.

 

702.03 Class PA, Form PA: Works of the Performing Arts.

This category ~includes 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 are musical

works, including any accompanying words: dramatic

works, including any accompanying music: pantomimes

and choreographic works: and motion pictures and

other audiovisual works, including accompanying

sounds, if any.

 

702.04 Class VA, Form VA: Works of the Visual Arts. This

category includes published and unpublished pic-

torial, graphic, and sculptural works. Examples

are two-dimensional and three-dimensional works

of fine, graphic, and applied arts, photographs,

prints and art reproductions, maps, globes, and

charts, technical drawings, diagrams, and models,

as well as pictorial or graphic labels and adver-

tisements.

 

702.05 Class SR, Form SR: Sound Recordings. This category

includes all published and unpublished sound re-

cordings fixed on or after February 15, 1972. In

addition, claims to copyright in literary, dramatic,

and musical works embodied in a phonorecord may be

registered in Class SR if the claimant for both the

sound recording and the underlying work is the same

and the application covers both the sound recording

and the underlying material. "Sound recordings"

are works that result from the fixation of a series

of musical, spoken, or other sounds. The audio

portions of audiovisual works, such as a motion

picture sound track or an audio cassette accompany-

ing a filmstrip, are considered an integral part of

the audiovisual work and are registrable in Class

PA rather than Class SR.

 

[1984]

 

 

700-4

 

703 Renewal application: form RE. The current Act provides

for renewal of copyright In works already in their

first term of copyright on January I, 1978. See 17

U.S.C. 304. Form RE is appropriate for all renewal

registrations, regardless of the class in which the

original registration was made.

 

704 Registration forms for special cases. In addition to

the forms listed above, the Copyright Office has estab-

lished two registration forms for use in special cases.

 

704.01 Form CA: Supplementary Registration. This form is

used to apply for supplementary registration under

section 408(d) of the current Act, in order to

correct an error in a copyright registration or to

amplify the information given in a registration.

See Chapter 1500: CORRECTIONS AND AMPLIFICATIONS OF

COPYRIGHT OFFICE RECORDS: SUPPLEMENTARY REGISTRA-

TIONS.

 

704.02 Form GR/CP: Group Registration for Contributions

to Periodicals. -This form is used as a adjunct

to a basic application on Form TX, Form PA, or Form

VA where the applicant is making a single registra-

tion under section 408(c)(2) of the current Act

for a group of contributions to periodicals.

 

705 Import Statement. Section 601(b)(2) of the current

Act permits the importation of 2000 copies of a

foreign manufactured edition of a work consisting

preponderantly of nondramatic literary material that

is in the English language and is protected under the

current Act, upon presentation to the United States

Customs Service of an Import Statement. See Chapter

1200: MANUFACTURING PROVISIONS.

 

705.01 Form IS: Request for Issuance of an Import State-

ment. This form implements the statutory pro-

visions prescribing an Import Statement. Copy-

right owners of works that are subject to the

manufacturing restrictions must use this form to

secure issuance of an Import Statement.

 

[1984]

 

 

700-5

 

706 Submission of material. In order to consider regis-

tration of a claim to copyright, the Copyright Office

should receive a completed application form together

with the required fee and deposit. The application

should contain the required information and be duly

certified. Incomplete, inaccurate, or illegible appli-

cations may delay the registration process.

 

707 Quality and legibility of application forms. Appli-

cation forms accepted for registration become permanent

parts of the official records of the Copyright Office

and must meet archival standards and be legible.

 

707.01 Only application forms issued by the Copyright Office may be used. Copyright Office forms meet

strict archival standards; therefore, only forms

issued by the Office may be used to make regis-

tration. Photocopies or other reproductions of

Copyright Office forms cannot be accepted for

registration.

 

707.02 Information given on the application form should

be typewritten or legibly printed in black ink.

Information required by the forms must be legible

and should be typewritten or printed in black

ink. Applicants who anticipate filing a large

number of applications may place certain repeti-

tive information on the application forms they

submit by using a printing process. Carbons of

applications or applications completed in pencil

are generally not acceptable.

 

708 Selection of most appropriate application form. The

appropriate form is generally determined by the nature

of the authorship in which copyright is claimed. For

most works, one form will clearly be the most appro-

priate.

 

708.01 Nature of authorship determinative. The nature

of the authorship determines which application form

should be used for registration rather than the

material object in which the work is embodied.

 

Example:

 

A filmstrip or set of slides containing only

text should be registered on Form TX, not on

Form PA.

 

[1984]

 

 

700-6

Selection of most appropriate application form.

(cont'd)

 

708.02 Two forms seem appropriate: song lyrics, speeches,

and other works prepared for oral delivery. For

song lyrics, speeches, and other works prepared for

oral delivery, two forms appear to be appropriate

because the nature of authorship is literary and

because the work was prepared for the purpose of

performance. Although the Copyright Office will

accept either Form PA or TX, Form PA is more

appropriate.

 

708.03 Contributions to collective works. In the case

of contributions to collective works, applications

should be submitted in the class representing the

copyrightable authorship in the contribution.

 

Examples:

 

1) A pictorial cartoon published in a weekly

magazine should be registered on Form VA.

 

2) A short story published in a monthly magazine

should be registered on Form TX.

708.04 Derivative works. 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.

 

Example:

 

A motion picture version of a previously pub-

lished novel should be registered on Form PA.

 

708.05 Works in which the claim includes two or more cate-

gories of authorship. For works in which the

claim includes copyrightable material in two or

more classes, the type of such material that

predominates generally determines the class for

registration.

 

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700-7

 

Selection of most appropriate application form.

(cont'd)

 

708.05 Works in which the claim includes two or more

categories of authorship. (cont'd)

 

Example:

 

A game contains pictorial material on a game

board, sculptural authorship in game pieces,

and textual authorship in the game instruc-

tions. If the pictorial and sculptural

authorship predominates, Form VA should be

used. If the textual material predominates,

Form TX should be used.

 

NOTE: As an exception, where the claim includes

sound recording authorship, Form SR must be used

regardless of the nature of the other material or

which type of authorship predominates. See

section 702.05 above.

 

Examples:

 

I) A kit consisting of a booklet and a cassette

tape with a claim in text and sound recording

must be registered on Form SR.

 

2) A phonorecord with a claim in words, music, and

sound recording must be registered on Form SR.

Classification for administrative purposes only. The

current Act specifies that the classification system

adopted by the Copyright Office is solely for adminis-

trative purposes and has no significance with respect

to the subject matter of copyright or the exclusive

rights under the current Act. See 17 U.S.C. 408(c)(I).

However, the Copyright Office may request submission

of a new application in the correct class where regis-

tration was originally sought on an inappropriate

form.

 

[Numbers 710 through 749 are reserved].

 

Fees. The fees for registration, recordation, and

certain other services are prescribed or authorized

by the current Act. See 17 U.S.C. 708(a).

 

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700-8

 

75O Fees. (cont'd)

 

750.01 Applicability of fees to U.S. Government. The fees

prescribed or authorized by the current Act are

also applicable to the United States Government and

any of its agencies, employees, or officers; how-

ever, the law specifies that the Register of Copy-

rights has discretion to waive this requirement in

occasional or isolated cases involving relatively

small amounts. See 17 U.S.C. 708(b).

 

750.02 Refunds. Money remitted to the Copyright Office

for original, basic, supplementary, or renewal

registration will not be refunded if the claim is

rejected because the material deposited does not

constitute copyrightable subject matter or because

the claim is invalid for any other reason. Payments

made by mistake or in excess of the statutory fee

will be refunded, but amounts of $5 or less will

not be refunded unless specifically requested, and

refunds of less than $1 may be made in postage

stamps. 37 C.F.R. 201.6(c).

 

751 Effective date of fee schedule under the current Act.

Applications for copyright registration and requests

for other fee services of the Copyright Office received

on or after January 1, 1978, are governed by the fee

schedule of the current Act. In cases where an appli-

cation, deposit, and fee were received before January I,

1978, but processing was not completed until after Janu-

ary I, 1978, the fees established in accordance with

title 17 as it existed on December 31, 1977, shall

apply. See section 109, Transitional and Supplementary

Provisions of the current Act.

 

752 Submission of registration fees. Registration fees

should be submitted in the same envelope or package

with the application and deposit. With regard to fees

submitted to establish or replenish Deposit Accounts,

see section 754 below.

 

753 Form of payment. The Copyright Office urges that all

remittances mailed to it be in the form of a check,

money order, or bank draft, payable to REGISTER OF

COPYRIGHTS.

 

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700-9

 

Form of payment. (cont'd)

 

753.01 Currency. The Copyright Office will accept currency

but does not assume any responsibility for monies sent

in payment of fees which are lost before receipt in

the Copyright Office.

 

753.02 Fees remitted from outside the United States or made

payable in foreign currency. The Copyright Office

does not accept checks drawn on foreign banks or

made payable in foreign currencies. Foreign

remittances must be in the form of an International

Money Order or Bank Draft payable in United States

dollars.

 

754 Deposit Accounts. The Copyright Office maintains a

system of Deposit Accounts for the convenience of those

who frequently use the services of the Office. The

system allows an individual or firm to establish a

Deposit Account in the Copyright Office and to make

advance deposits into the Account. Charges for regis-

tration, recordation, or other fee services will be

deducted from the outstanding balances in such Accounts.

 

754.01 Minimum requirements for Deposit Accounts. The

following are the minimum requirements for estab-

lishing and maintaining a Deposit Account in the

Copyright Office:

 

1) When the Account is opened, the initial deposit

must amount to at least $250.

 

2) All later deposits into the Account must also

be $250 or more.

 

3) There must be at least 12 transactions a year.

 

4) If fees are to be charged against a Deposit

Account, the exact name and number of the

Account should be given on all applications

for registration or other requests for fee

services.

 

5) The Deposit Account holder must maintain a

sufficient balance to cover all charges against

the Account.

 

[1984]

 

 

700-10

 

755 Cancellation of registration in cases of dishonored

checks. When a check received in payment of the

registration fee is returned to the Copyright Office

marked "insufficient funds" or is otherwise marked

uncollectible, the Copyright Office will cancel any

registration for which the dishonored check was

submitted: the Office will notify the applicant in

writing that the check was returned to the Copyright

Office as uncollectible, that the registration has been

cancelled, and that the certificate of registration

should be returned to the Copyright Office. When a

registration is cancelled, appropriate notations are

placed in the original record to show that the

registration has been cancelled.

 

755 Fees not specified in section 708 of the current Act.

Certain fees for Copyright Office services under the

Freedom of Information Act and the privacy Act are not

established in title 17, U.S.C. See 37 C.F.R. 203.6

and 204.6.

 

[END OF CHAPTER 700]

 

[1984]