Copyright Office Will Raise Many Fees on Thursday, May 1, 2014

On March 24, 2014 the Copyright Office published a final regulation on fees for its various services. See 79 FR 15910-15920. Some services are free, e.g., inquiries to the Public Information Office. Many are not, e.g., registration of claims to copyright, recording documents of transfer, filing termination notices, obtaining additional certificates of registration. For the services where fees are raised, filing before May 1^st can result in significant savings.

The law, Title 17, section 708, allows the Register of Copyrights to adjust fees based on a study of the Office’s costs. The law provides that the Office cannot raise fees more than necessary to cover the reasonable costs incurred and a reasonable inflation adjustment. The last time fees were adjusted was in 2009.

A notice of inquiry seeking comments on a variety of issues was published on January 24, 2012 (77 FR 3506). One question was whether special consideration should be given to individual author-claimants registering a single work (the response was yes); another was whether the Office should expand, improve or add to its services (a majority of the comment said yes—however, the Copyright Office in its March 24^th notice reported that it may continue to consider this but at present it lacks sufficient information to proceed). See footnote 12 at page 15911 of the March 24^th Federal Register.

Many registration fees were raised; some stayed the same; and some were reduced.

Key fees:

Registration application for standard original claims to copyright:

a. Online: $55 (previously: $35)

b. Paper: $85 (previously: $65)

Registration application for a single author of a single work, not made for hire, owned by that single author, submitted online: $35

Group Registrations

a. Contributions to periodicals (Form GR/CP) or database updates: $85 (previously: $65)

b. Published photographs or automated databases that consist predominately consist of photographs or updates of those databases: Paper: $65 (no change); Electronic: $55 (previously: $35)

c. Group of serials (Form SE/Group): $25 per serial with a minimum of 2 (no change)

d. Group of daily newspapers and qualified newsletters (Form G/DN): $80 (no change)

Registration for a mask work (Form MW): $120 (previously: $105)

Registration for the design of a vessel hull (Form D/VH): $400 (previously:

$220)

Registration of a work restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (Form GATT): $85 (previously: $65)

Supplementary Registration to correct or amplify information in a previous registration (Form CA): $130 (previously: $100)

Renewal claims:

a. Renewal application: $100 (previously: $130)

b. Renewal Addendum: $100 (previously: $220)

Recordation of Documents

Recordation of a document: $105 (no change)

Additional titles (more than one) –for groups of up to 10: $35 (previously: $30)

Special Handling of registration claims: $800 (previously: $760)

Special Handling of document recordation: $550 (previously: $480)

Requests for reconsideration of refusals to register a claim, which now are limited to only one claim: see explanation at FR page 15916 at b.iii.

1. First reconsideration $250 (no change)

2. Second reconsideration $500 (no change)

Additional certificates of registration: $40 (previously: $35)

Certification of other Copyright Office records, including search reports: per hour $200 (previously: $160)

For the final rule in the Federal Register and other information about copyright and the services of the Copyright Office, go to www.copyright.gov.