S-45
No. 13
REFERRAL OF CERTAIN CASES INVOLVING
PUBLISHED WORKS FROM THE EXAMINING
DIVISION TO THE COMPLIANCE SECTION,
REFERENCE DIVISION
I.
In general. The compliance provision of the copyright law is essentially a criminal pro vision, and should not be used indiscriminately. As a general rule, a case should be referred to the Compliance Section, Reference Division, only when:
a.
It is clear that a valid copyright has been secured;
b.
Examining Division correspondence has failed to resolve the difficulty, and it seems clear that further correspondence along the same lines would be fruitless; and
c.
It is impossible or undesirable to make registration on the basis of the material at hand.
II.
Cases where no compliance action is appropriate. The following cases should not be referred to the
Compliance Section, but should ordinarily be closed after there has been no response to the letters of the Office:a.
The work is unpublished or there is a real question as to whether or not publication has taken place:
b.
The work is by a foreign author and was first published abroad;
c.
There is any real doubt as to the registrability
of the work. Examples:10-66
