dates in the copyright notice or multiple copyright notices with antedated year date(s), the Office also will inquire about whether the work or portions of it were previously published. The applicant should cite all antedated year dates in Form RE.
2115.2(C) Post-Dated Year Date in Copyright Notice
When a work was first published with a year date in the copyright notice that is later than the year of first publication, there may be serious consequences for renewal registration. The Office's action will depend on whether the year date is post-dated by one year or more. For more information about the effect of publication with a post- dated year date in the copyright notice, see U.S. Copyright Office, Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices Chs. 4, 8.2, & Supplementary Practice Nos. 18, 19, 27, 29, 35 & 37 (1st ed. 1973), available
at http:/ / copyright.gov/ comp3 / chap2 1 00/ doc/appendixA-noticerequirements.pdf.
2115.2(C)(1) Year Date is Post-Dated by One Year
When the renewal claim is based on an original registration record that cites a post- dated year date in the notice, the Office will notify the applicant about the citation in the original registration record and will add an annotation to the certificate of renewal registration and a note in the renewal registration record regarding the post-dated year date. 7 When a work is being registered for the first time during the renewal term the Office will inquire about the facts of publication. If the applicant confirms the publication facts, the certificate of renewal registration and renewal registration record should cite the post-dated year date. In either case, when a work was first published with a year date that is one year later than the year of first publication, renewal registration will be made under the rule of doubt. 8
7 This policy took effect in 2012 and represents a change from the longstanding Office practice not to note a post-dated year date on the certificate of renewal registration or in the renewal registration record. Before 1978, post-dated year dates were annotated in the original registration record, but not on the certificate of registration. Since 1978, a post-dated year date was not generally noted on either the certificate or original registration record.
8 This policy, which mirrors the policy under Compendium I for original registration, takes effect for renewal registration with the publication of the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition. Before then, a post-dated notice annotated in an original registration record was not referenced in the certificate of renewal registration or renewal record and such registrations were not made under the rule of doubt.
Chapter 2100 : 18
12/22/2014
