Amendment to Regulations Governing Group Registration of Updates to a News Website
The U.S. Copyright Office published a final rule amending the group registration option for frequently updated news websites, or GRNW. The rule establishing the GRNW registration option was published on July 22, 2024. This registration option enables news publishers to register a group of updates to a news website as a collective work, with a deposit composed of identifying material representing sufficient portions of the works included, rather than the complete contents of the website.
To improve administration of the regulation, in May 2026, the Office initiated this related rulemaking that clarifies the definition of “news website.” The updated rule makes clear that (1) a news website need only report on a variety of subjects, (2) the primary function of the website must be to report on current events, and (3) the news content must be updated frequently.
The final rule is effective immediately.
Instructions for completing the application are available on the GRNW webpage.