Register’s Declaration of the Termination of a Disruption of the Copyright Office Electronic Registration System

Beginning on August 12, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. eastern time, the U.S. Copyright Office’s electronic registration system (eCO) was unavailable to the public due to a technical upgrade. Persons attempting to submit copyright registration applications, fees, deposits, and/or other materials via eCO after that time were unable to do so. On August 17, 2021, the Register issued a declaration pursuant to 37 C.F.R. 201.8(a) that a disruption of a Copyright Office electronic system had occurred. The disruption was believed to have been resolved as of that time, but due to subsequent technological issues, the Register issued a revised declaration on August 18, 2021, that the disruption was ongoing. The Register now determines that the disruption ended on August 29, 2021, at 6:00 a.m. eastern time. The Register therefore is exercising her authority under 37 C.F.R. 201.8(b) to adjust the effective date of registration assigned to registration claims affected by the disruption.

Any person who attempted to submit registration materials via eCO during the affected period and was unable to do so may request an adjustment of the effective date of registration by submitting a request as described in the eCO Disruption Declaration Form. Adjustments will not be made absent submission of such a request. Requests must be accompanied by satisfactory evidence of an unsuccessful attempt to submit registration materials during the affected period. Satisfactory evidence includes, but is not limited to, a statement under penalty of perjury, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1746, from a person with actual knowledge of the facts relating to the attempt to submit the material to the Copyright Office, setting forth with particularity facts demonstrating that in the absence of the disruption, the material would have been received by the Copyright Office by a particular date.

If the Register finds the evidence to be satisfactory, the applicant shall be assigned, as the date of receipt of the relevant material, the date on which the Register determines the material would have been received but for the disruption, so long as such material is actually received in the Copyright Office within one month after August 29, 2021. All requests for adjustment of the effective date of registration under this authority must be received within one year of the date of this declaration.

September 1, 2021

Shira Perlmutter
Register and Director, United States Copyright Office