Amendment to Regulations Governing Group Registration of Updates to a News Website
The U.S. Copyright Office proposes an amendment to the group registration option for frequently updated news websites and requests public comment. The Group Registration for Updates to a News Website, or GRNW, final rule was published in July 2024. The rule 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, the proposed amendment clarifies the definition of “news website.” The updated definition reflects the intent 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.
Comments are due on June 29, 2026.