U.S. Copyright Office Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Relating to Group Registration of Serials and Newsletters
Issue No. 717 - May 17, 2018
The Copyright Office has published notices of proposed rulemaking to update its regulations governing group registration of serials and newsletters. Among other things, the proposed rules will require applicants to file an online application rather than a paper application, and upload a complete digital copy of each issue through the electronic registration system instead of submitting it in physical form. The rule would also specify that registration deposits will not satisfy the copyright owner’s separate obligation to deposit copies of works for the benefit of the Library of Congress. The proposed rule would instead require copyright owners to provide complimentary subscriptions to serials and newsletters that the Library determines are important for its collections.
The Office seeks public comments on the proposed amendments, which will be considered in promulgating a final rule.
The proposed regulations and instructions on how to submit a comment are available here for serials and here for newsletters. Written comments must be received no later than June 18, 2018, at 11:59 p.m. eastern time.