(a) A claim or counterclaim alleging infringement of an exclusive right in a copyrighted work may not be asserted before the Copyright Claims Board unless the legal or beneficial owner of the copyright has first delivered a completed application, a deposit, and the required fee for registration of the copyright to the Copyright Office and a registration certificate has either been issued or has not been refused.

(b) For a work that has not yet been registered, a claimant or counterclaimant who has a pending application to register the work must indicate on its claim or counterclaim notice that the work is pending registration and must include the work's service request (SR) number that was assigned to the copyright registration claim. If the Copyright Claims Board, in its discretion, at any time determines that the proceeding may not proceed forward because of a pending registration, the Copyright Claims Board shall issue an order holding the proceeding in abeyance until it is provided with the certificate of registration or the registration number on the certificate of registration or certificate preview. Under this provision, the Copyright Claims Board can decide to hold the proceeding in abeyance at any point in the proceeding, but must dismiss the proceeding without prejudice if it is notified that the registration application was refused. If the proceeding has been held in abeyance for more than one year, the Copyright Claims Board may dismiss the claim or counterclaim without prejudice after providing thirty days' written notice to all parties to the proceeding.