Page:Compendium of US Copyright Office Practices (1973).pdf/387

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S-9

No.6

OBSCENE WORKS

Obscene Works.

a. The Office will not ordinarily attempt to examine a work to determine whether it contains material that might be considered obscene.

b. If the examiner believes, upon an ordinary examination, that a work is obscene, the Chief of the Examining Division will determine whether the work should be referred to the Department of Justice for possible prosecution. If the work is not so referred, the copyright claim may be registered.

c. When a work is referred to the Department of Justice, registration will be held up pending action by that Department. [September 1954]