17 U.S.C. § 708 — Copyright Office fees

Page 185 TITLE 17—COPYRIGHTS § 708 1 See References in Text note below. (b) Such records and indexes, as well as the ar- ticles deposited in connection with completed copyright registrations and retained under the control of the Copyright Office, shall be open to public inspection. (c) Upon request and payment of the fee speci- fied by section 708, the Copyright Office shall make a search of its public records, indexes, and deposits, and shall furnish a report of the infor- mation they disclose with respect to any par- ticular deposits, registrations, or recorded docu- ments. (Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2592; Pub. L. 106–379, § 3(a)(2), Oct. 27, 2000, 114 Stat. 1445.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2000—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106–379 amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as fol- lows: ‘‘The Register of Copyrights shall provide and keep in the Copyright Office records of all deposits, registrations, recordations, and other actions taken under this title, and shall prepare indexes of all such records.’’ § 706. Copies of Copyright Office records (a) Copies may be made of any public records or indexes of the Copyright Office; additional certificates of copyright registration and copies of any public records or indexes may be fur- nished upon request and payment of the fees specified by section 708. (b) Copies or reproductions of deposited arti- cles retained under the control of the Copyright Office shall be authorized or furnished only under the conditions specified by the Copyright Office regulations. (Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2592.) § 707. Copyright Office forms and publications (a) CATALOG OF COPYRIGHT ENTRIES.—The Reg- ister of Copyrights shall compile and publish at periodic intervals catalogs of all copyright reg- istrations. These catalogs shall be divided into parts in accordance with the various classes of works, and the Register has discretion to deter- mine, on the basis of practicability and useful- ness, the form and frequency of publication of each particular part. (b) OTHER PUBLICATIONS.—The Register shall furnish, free of charge upon request, application forms for copyright registration and general in- formational material in connection with the functions of the Copyright Office. The Register also has the authority to publish compilations of information, bibliographies, and other mate- rial he or she considers to be of value to the pub- lic. (c) DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLICATIONS.—All publi- cations of the Copyright Office shall be fur- nished to depository libraries as specified under section 1905 of title 44, and, aside from those fur- nished free of charge, shall be offered for sale to the public at prices based on the cost of repro- duction and distribution. (Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2592.) § 708. Copyright Office fees (a) FEES.—Fees shall be paid to the Register of Copyrights— (1) on filing each application under section 408 for registration of a copyright claim or for a supplementary registration, including the issuance of a certificate of registration if reg- istration is made; (2) on filing each application for registration of a claim for renewal of a subsisting copy- right under section 304(a), including the issuance of a certificate of registration if reg- istration is made; (3) for the issuance of a receipt for a deposit under section 407; (4) for the recordation, as provided by sec- tion 205, of a transfer of copyright ownership or other document; (5) for the filing, under section 115(b),1 of a notice of intention to obtain a compulsory li- cense; (6) for the recordation, under section 302(c), of a statement revealing the identity of an au- thor of an anonymous or pseudonymous work, or for the recordation, under section 302(d), of a statement relating to the death of an au- thor; (7) for the issuance, under section 706, of an additional certificate of registration; (8) for the issuance of any other certifi- cation; (9) for the making and reporting of a search as provided by section 705, and for any related services; (10) on filing a statement of account based on secondary transmissions of primary trans- missions pursuant to section 119 or 122; and (11) on filing a statement of account based on secondary transmissions of primary trans- missions pursuant to section 111. The Register is authorized to fix fees for other services, including the cost of preparing copies of Copyright Office records, whether or not such copies are certified, based on the cost of pro- viding the service. Fees established under para- graphs (10) and (11) shall be reasonable and may not exceed one-half of the cost necessary to cover reasonable expenses incurred by the Copy- right Office for the collection and administra- tion of the statements of account and any roy- alty fees deposited with such statements. (b) ADJUSTMENT OF FEES.—The Register of Copyrights may, by regulation, adjust the fees for the services specified in paragraphs (1) through (9) of subsection (a) in the following manner: (1) The Register shall conduct a study of the costs incurred by the Copyright Office for the registration of claims, the recordation of doc- uments, and the provision of services. The study shall also consider the timing of any ad- justment in fees and the authority to use such fees consistent with the budget. (2) The Register may, on the basis of the study under paragraph (1), and subject to para- graph (5), adjust fees to not more than that necessary to cover the reasonable costs in- curred by the Copyright Office for the services Page 186 TITLE 17—COPYRIGHTS § 708 described in paragraph (1), plus a reasonable inflation adjustment to account for any esti- mated increase in costs. (3) Any fee established under paragraph (2) shall be rounded off to the nearest dollar, or for a fee less than $12, rounded off to the near- est 50 cents. (4) Fees established under this subsection shall be fair and equitable and give due consid- eration to the objectives of the copyright sys- tem. (5) If the Register determines under para- graph (2) that fees should be adjusted, the Reg- ister shall prepare a proposed fee schedule and submit the schedule with the accompanying economic analysis to the Congress. The fees proposed by the Register may be instituted after the end of 120 days after the schedule is submitted to the Congress unless, within that 120-day period, a law is enacted stating in sub- stance that the Congress does not approve the schedule. (c) The fees prescribed by or under this section are applicable to the United States Government and any of its agencies, employees, or officers, but the Register of Copyrights has discretion to waive the requirement of this subsection in oc- casional or isolated cases involving relatively small amounts. (d)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), all fees received under this section shall be depos- ited by the Register of Copyrights in the Treas- ury of the United States and shall be credited to the appropriations for necessary expenses of the Copyright Office. Such fees that are collected shall remain available until expended. The Reg- ister may, in accordance with regulations that he or she shall prescribe, refund any sum paid by mistake or in excess of the fee required by this section. (2) In the case of fees deposited against future services, the Register of Copyrights shall re- quest the Secretary of the Treasury to invest in interest-bearing securities in the United States Treasury any portion of the fees that, as deter- mined by the Register, is not required to meet current deposit account demands. Funds from such portion of fees shall be invested in securi- ties that permit funds to be available to the Copyright Office at all times if they are deter- mined to be necessary to meet current deposit account demands. Such investments shall be in public debt securities with maturities suitable to the needs of the Copyright Office, as deter- mined by the Register of Copyrights, and bear- ing interest at rates determined by the Sec- retary of the Treasury, taking into consider- ation current market yields on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of comparable maturities. (3) The income on such investments shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States and shall be credited to the appropriations for necessary expenses of the Copyright Office. (e)(1) In this subsection, the term ‘‘covered competition’’ means— (A) an art competition sponsored by the Congressional Institute that is open only to high school students; or (B) the competition established under sec- tion 3 of House Resolution 77, 113th Congress, agreed to February 26, 2013. (2) With respect to a work that wins a covered competition, the Register of Copyrights— (A) shall waive the requirement under sub- section (a)(1) with respect to an application for registration of a copyright claim for that work if that application is submitted to the Copyright Office not later than the last day of the calendar year following the year in which the work claimed by the application wins the covered competition (referred to in this para- graph as the ‘‘covered year’’); and (B) may waive a fee described in subpara- graph (A) for an application submitted after the end of the covered year if the fee would have been waived under that subparagraph had the application been submitted before the last day of the covered year. (Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2593; Pub. L. 95–94, title IV, § 406(b), Aug. 5, 1977, 91 Stat. 682; Pub. L. 97–366, § 1, Oct. 25, 1982, 96 Stat. 1759; Pub. L. 101–318, § 2(a), (b), July 3, 1990, 104 Stat. 287, 288; Pub. L. 102–307, title I, § 102(f), June 26, 1992, 106 Stat. 266; Pub. L. 105–80, § 7, Nov. 13, 1997, 111 Stat. 1532; Pub. L. 106–379, § 3(a)(3), Oct. 27, 2000, 114 Stat. 1445; Pub. L. 111–175, title I, § 106, May 27, 2010, 124 Stat. 1244; Pub. L. 117–201, § 2, Oct. 17, 2022, 136 Stat. 2222.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Subsection (b) of section 115, referred to in subsec. (a)(5), was struck out and a new subsection (b) was added by Pub. L. 115–264, title I, § 102(a)(2), Oct. 11, 2018, 132 Stat. 3678. AMENDMENTS 2022—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 117–201 added subsec. (e). 2010—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 111–175, § 106(4), inserted at end of concluding provisions ‘‘Fees established under paragraphs (10) and (11) shall be reasonable and may not exceed one-half of the cost necessary to cover rea- sonable expenses incurred by the Copyright Office for the collection and administration of the statements of account and any royalty fees deposited with such state- ments.’’ Subsec. (a)(10), (11). Pub. L. 111–175, § 106(1)–(3), added pars. (10) and (11). 2000—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106–379, § 3(a)(3)(A), amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: ‘‘The following fees shall be paid to the Register of Copyrights: ‘‘(1) on filing each application under section 408 for registration of a copyright claim or for a supple- mentary registration, including the issuance of a cer- tificate of registration if registration is made, $20; ‘‘(2) on filing each application for registration of a claim for renewal of a subsisting copyright under sec- tion 304(a), including the issuance of a certificate of registration if registration is made, $20; ‘‘(3) for the issuance of a receipt for a deposit under section 407, $4; ‘‘(4) for the recordation, as provided by section 205, of a transfer of copyright ownership or other docu- ment covering not more than one title, $20; for addi- tional titles, $10 for each group of not more than 10 titles; ‘‘(5) for the filing, under section 115(b), of a notice of intention to obtain a compulsory license, $12; ‘‘(6) for the recordation, under section 302(c), of a statement revealing the identity of an author of an anonymous or pseudonymous work, or for the rec- ordation, under section 302(d), of a statement relating to the death of an author, $20 for a document cov- ering not more than one title; for each additional title, $2; Page 187 TITLE 17—COPYRIGHTS § 708 ‘‘(7) for the issuance, under section 706, of an addi- tional certificate of registration, $8; ‘‘(8) for the issuance of any other certification, $20 for each hour or fraction of an hour consumed with respect thereto; ‘‘(9) for the making and reporting of a search as provided by section 705, and for any related services, $20 for each hour or fraction of an hour consumed with respect thereto; and ‘‘(10) for any other special services requiring a sub- stantial amount of time or expense, such fees as the Register of Copyrights may fix on the basis of the cost of providing the service. The Register of Copyrights is authorized to fix the fees for preparing copies of Copyright Office records, wheth- er or not such copies are certified, on the basis of the cost of such preparation.’’ Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 106–379, § 3(a)(3)(B)(i), inserted in- troductory provisions and struck out former introduc- tory provisions which read as follows: ‘‘In calendar year 1997 and in any subsequent calendar year, the Reg- ister of Copyrights, by regulation, may increase the fees specified in subsection (a) in the following man- ner:’’. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 106–379, § 3(a)(3)(B)(ii), sub- stituted ‘‘adjustment’’ for ‘‘increase’’. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 106–379, § 3(a)(3)(B)(iii), sub- stituted ‘‘adjust fees to not more’’ for ‘‘increase fees to not more’’. Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 106–379, § 3(a)(3)(B)(iv), sub- stituted ‘‘adjusted’’ for ‘‘increased’’. 1997—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105–80, § 7(a), amended sub- sec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as follows: ‘‘In calendar year 1995 and in each subse- quent fifth calendar year, the Register of Copyrights, by regulation, may increase the fees specified in sub- section (a) by the percent change in the annual aver- age, for the preceding calendar year, of the Consumer Price Index published by the Bureau of Labor Statis- tics, over the annual average of the Consumer Price Index for the fifth calendar year preceding the calendar year in which such increase is authorized.’’ Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105–80, § 7(b), amended subsec. (d) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (d) read as fol- lows: ‘‘All fees received under this section shall be de- posited by the Register of Copyrights in the Treasury of the United States and shall be credited to the appro- priation for necessary expenses of the Copyright Office. The Register may, in accordance with regulations that he or she shall prescribe, refund any sum paid by mis- take or in excess of the fee required by this section.’’ 1992—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 102–307 struck out ‘‘in its first term’’ after ‘‘copyright’’ and substituted ‘‘$20’’ for ‘‘$12’’. 1990—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–318, § 2(a), amended sub- sec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: ‘‘The following fees shall be paid to the Reg- ister of Copyrights: ‘‘(1) on filing each application for registration of a copyright claim or a supplementary registration under section 408, including the issuance of a certifi- cate of registration if registration is made, $10; ‘‘(2) on filing each application for registration of a claim to renewal of a subsisting copyright in its first term under section 304(a), including the issuance of a certificate of registration if registration is made, $6; ‘‘(3) for the issuance of a receipt for a deposit under section 407, $2; ‘‘(4) for the recordation, as provided by section 205, of a transfer of copyright ownership or other docu- ment of six pages or less, covering no more than one title, $10; for each page over six and each title over one, 50 cents additional; ‘‘(5) for the filing, under section 115(b), of a notice of intention to make phonorecords, $6; ‘‘(6) for the recordation, under section 302(c), of a statement revealing the identity of an author of an anonymous or pseudonymous work, or for the rec- ordation, under section 302(d), of a statement relating to the death of an author, $10 for a document of six pages or less, covering no more than one title; for each page over six and for each title over one, $1 addi- tional; ‘‘(7) for the issuance, under section 601, of an import statement, $3; ‘‘(8) for the issuance, under section 706, of an addi- tional certificate of registration, $4; ‘‘(9) for the issuance of any other certification, $4; the Register of Copyrights has discretion, on the basis of their cost, to fix the fees for preparing copies of Copyright Office records, whether they are to be certified or not; ‘‘(10) for the making and reporting of a search as provided by section 705, and for any related services, $10 for each hour or fraction of an hour consumed; ‘‘(11) for any other special services requiring a sub- stantial amount of time or expense, such fees as the Register of Copyrights may fix on the basis of the cost of providing the service.’’ Subsecs. (b) to (d). Pub. L. 101–318, § 2(b), added sub- sec. (b) and redesignated former subsecs. (b) and (c) as (c) and (d), respectively. 1982—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 97–366, § 1(1), substituted provision for a $10 fee on filing each application for reg- istration of a copyright claim or a supplementary reg- istration under section 408, including the issuance of a certificate of registration if registration is made, for provision for a $10 fee for the registration of a copy- right claim or a supplementary registration under sec- tion 408, including the issuance of a certificate of reg- istration. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 97–366, § 1(1), substituted provi- sion for a $6 fee on filing each application for registra- tion of a claim to renewal of a subsisting copyright in its first term under section 304(a), including the issuance of a certificate of registration if registration is made, for provision for a $6 fee for the registration of a claim to renewal of a subsisting copyright in its first term under section 304(a), including the issuance of a certificate of registration. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97–366, § 1(2), struck out provision that, before making a refund in any case involving a re- fusal to register a claim under section 410(b), the Reg- ister could deduct all or any part of the prescribed reg- istration fee to cover the reasonable administrative costs of processing the claim. 1977—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 95–94 substituted provisions relating to crediting of all fees received, to the appro- priation for necessary expenses of the Copyright Office, for provisions relating to crediting of all fees received in the manner directed by the Secretary of the Treas- ury. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2010 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 111–175 effective Feb. 27, 2010, see section 307(a) of Pub. L. 111–175, set out as a note under section 111 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2000 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 106–379, § 3(c)(1), Oct. 27, 2000, 114 Stat. 1445, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this section [amending this section and sections 121 and 705 of this title and repealing section 710 of this title] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 27, 2000].’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1992 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 102–307 effective June 26, 1992, but applicable only to copyrights secured between Jan- uary 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977, and not affecting court proceedings pending on June 26, 1992, with copy- rights secured before January 1, 1964, governed by sec- tion 304(a) of this title as in effect on the day before June 26, 1992, except each reference to forty-seven years in such provisions deemed to be 67 years, see section 102(g) of Pub. L. 102–307, as amended, set out as a note under section 101 of this title. Page 188 TITLE 17—COPYRIGHTS § 709 1 So in original. Probably should be followed by ‘‘to’’. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1990 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 101–318, § 2(d), July 3, 1990, 104 Stat. 288, pro- vided that: ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by this sec- tion [amending this section and section 704 of this title] shall take effect 6 months after the date of the enact- ment of this Act [July 3, 1990] and shall apply to— ‘‘(A) claims to original, supplementary, and re- newal copyright received for registration, and to items received for recordation in the Copyright Of- fice, on or after such effective date, and ‘‘(B) other requests for services received on or after such effective date, or received before such effective date for services not yet rendered as of such date. ‘‘(2) PRIOR CLAIMS.—Claims to original, supple- mentary, and renewal copyright received for registra- tion and items received for recordation in acceptable form in the Copyright Office before the effective date set forth in paragraph (1), and requests for services which are rendered before such effective date shall be governed by section 708 of title 17, United States Code, as in effect before such effective date.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1982 AMENDMENT; TRANSITIONAL RULE Pub. L. 97–366, § 2, Oct. 25, 1982, 96 Stat. 1759, provided that: ‘‘This Act [amending this section, section 110 of this title, and section 3 of Title 35, Patents] shall take effect thirty days after its enactment [Oct. 25, 1982] and shall apply to claims to original, supplementary, and renewal copyright received for registration in the Copyright Office on or after the effective date. Claims to original, supplementary, and renewal copyright re- ceived for registration in acceptable form in the Copy- right Office before the effective date shall be governed by the provisions of section 708(a)(1) and (2) in effect prior to this enactment.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1977 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 95–94, title IV, § 406(b), Aug. 5, 1977, 91 Stat. 682, provided that the amendment made by section 406(b) is effective Jan. 1, 1978. CARRY-OVER OF EXISTING FEES Pub. L. 106–379, § 3(c)(2), Oct. 27, 2000, 114 Stat. 1446, provided that: ‘‘The fees under section 708(a) of title 17, United States Code, on the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 27, 2000] shall be the fees in effect under section 708(a) of such title on the day before such date of enactment.’’ § 709. Delay in delivery caused by disruption of postal or other services In any case in which the Register of Copy- rights determines, on the basis of such evidence as the Register may by regulation require, that a deposit, application, fee, or any other material to be delivered to the Copyright Office by a par- ticular date, would have been received in the Copyright Office in due time except for a general disruption or suspension of postal or other transportation or communications services, the actual receipt of such material in the Copyright Office within one month after the date on which the Register determines that the disruption or suspension of such services has terminated, shall be considered timely. (Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2594.) § 710. Emergency relief authority (a) EMERGENCY ACTION.—If, on or before De- cember 31, 2021, the Register of Copyrights de- termines that a national emergency declared by the President under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) generally disrupts or suspends the ordinary functioning of the copy- right system under this title, or any component thereof, including on a regional basis, the Reg- ister may, on a temporary basis, toll, waive, ad- just, or modify any timing provision (including any deadline or effective period, except as pro- vided in subsection (c)) or procedural provision contained in this title or chapters II or III of title 37, Code of Federal Regulations, for no longer than the Register reasonably determines to be appropriate to mitigate the impact of the disruption caused by the national emergency. In taking such action, the Register shall consider the scope and severity of the particular national emergency, and its specific effect with respect to the particular provision, and shall tailor any remedy accordingly. (b) NOTICE AND EFFECT.—Any action taken by the Register in response to a national emer- gency pursuant to subsection (a) shall not be subject to section 701(e) or subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, and chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. The pro- vision of general public notice detailing the ac- tion being taken by the Register in response to the national emergency under subsection (a) is sufficient to effectuate such action. The Reg- ister may make such action effective both pro- spectively and retroactively in relation to a par- ticular provision as the Register determines to be appropriate based on the timing, scope, and nature of the public emergency, but any action by the Register may only be retroactive with re- spect to a deadline that has not already passed before the declaration described in subsection (a). (c) STATEMENT REQUIRED.—Except as provided in subsection (d), not later than 20 days after taking any action that results in a provision being modified for a cumulative total of longer than 120 days, the Register shall submit to Con- gress a statement detailing the action taken, the relevant background, and rationale for the action. (d) EXCEPTIONS.—The authority of the Register to act under subsection (a) does not extend 1 pro- visions under this title requiring the commence- ment of an action or proceeding in Federal court within a specified period of time, except that if the Register adjusts the license availability date defined in section 115(e)(15), such adjustment shall not affect the ability to commence actions for any claim of infringement of exclusive rights provided by paragraphs (1) and (3) of section 106 against a digital music provider arising from the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a musical work by such digital music provider in the course of engaging in covered activities that accrued after January 1, 2018, provided that such action is commenced within the time periods prescribed under section 115(d)(10)(C)(i) or 115(d)(10)(C)(ii) as calculated from the adjusted license availability date. If the Register adjusts the license availability date, the Register must provide the statement to Congress under sub- section (c) at the same time as the public notice