Copyright Deposit Requirement

*Photo by a.poll_o is licensed under CC 2.0. *

No one is required to register his or her copyright. As I discussed earlier, failure to register a copyright limits the remedies available to copyright holders against those who infringe upon their works, but creators of original works still hold a copyright regardless of whether they decided to register it.

Despite the voluntary nature of registration, however, the Copyright Act requires that all works published within the United States be deposited with the Copyright Office within three months of publication.

For these purposes, publication is the “distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership or by rental, lease, or lending.”

To satisfy the deposit requirements of the law, the owner of the copyright must deposit two copies of the work with the Copyright Office for the use of the Library of Congress.

Satisfying the Deposit Requirement

You may satisfy the deposit requirements simply by mailing the required copies of the work to the address below:

*Library of Congress

Copyright Office

Attn: 407 Deposits

101 Independence Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20559*

Alternatively, however, you may satisfy the requirement by registering your copyright. This is certainly the preferred method as it not only satisfies the deposit requirement established by law, but, as I have discussed elsewhere, it also provides you with significant protections otherwise unavailable.

Failure to Deposit

The law requires that all works published within the United States meet the deposit requirements set out above. The law envisions, however, that this requirement will be satisfied voluntary.

So, while there are potential fines and other penalties for failure to satisfy the requirements of the law, you generally do not have to worry about being blindsided by this.

So, when should you be concerned about the government imposing fines for failing to comply with the law’s requirements? After all, it is very possible that you published a work more than three months ago without knowledge of this law’s requirement.

If you have failed to make the necessary deposit, prior to imposing penalties the federal government will generally provide you with a written demand that you fulfill the requirements of the law. You will then generally have three months to comply.

Still, you are required to make the deposit, and so failure to make such deposits constitutes a breach of your legal obligations, regardless of whether the federal government decides to pursue you.

It is therefore in your best interest to comply with these requirements as soon as possible, and, indeed, your best option is to register your copyright, preferably within three months of publication.

Exceptions

Original works that are only available online are not subject to the mandatory deposit rules until the federal government issues a written demand for their deposit.

A unique aspect of this exception is the concept of the “electronic serial,” that is, works that are published online according to a set schedule. If the Copyright Office provides a deposit demand for the serial, that demand extends to future parts of the work not yet published. No additional notice is required.

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Sources:

Copyright Basics

Mandatory Deposit of Copies or Phonorecords for the Library of Congress

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See Also:

How to Secure a Copyright

Understanding Copyrights