- all the other applications, in the cover letter, and the address where the certificates of registration should be sent. The registration specialist may correct the typographical error in the name given in the application for Design No. 8 without giving an annotation.
- Eric Kressler and Carla McCloud submit an application to register a song titled “Friday Afternoon Blues,” naming themselves as co-authors of the work. The deposit copy states that the song was written by “Erica Kessler and Carl MacCloud.” In a cover letter Eric and Carla explain that their names were misprinted on the copy and that the names given on the application are correct. The registration specialist will register the claim without annotation, but a note will be added to the certificate of registration and the online public record indicating the presence of correspondence in the file.
603.2(B) Material Variances That May Be Resolved by Amending and Annotating the Registration Record without Communicating with the Applicant
If a material variance may be clearly resolved by reviewing the registration materials as a whole or by reviewing other U.S. Copyright Office records, the registration specialist may amend the information in the registration record without communicating with the applicant. As a general rule, if the required information does not appear in the application itself, and it is necessary to refer to information found elsewhere in the registration materials, such as the deposit copy(ies), a cover letter, the Note to Copyright Office field, or in other Office records, the registration specialist will annotate the registration record to indicate that the record was amended and will identify the source of the information.
Example:
- An online application is submitted for a work titled Money: For What It’s Worth. The title that appears on the deposit copy indicates that this is the third edition of this work, but the Limitation of Claim field has not been completed. The registration specialist will amend the title field to indicate that this is the third edition of this work and will register the claim with an annotation, such as: “Regarding title information: edition statement added by C.O. from the deposit copy.”
603.2(C) Material Variances Requiring Communication with the Applicant
When the U.S. Copyright Office discovers a material variance in the registration materials, and the correct information cannot be ascertained based on the information provided in the registration materials as a whole or in the Office’s records, the registration specialist will communicate with the applicant and attempt to resolve the discrepancy. (For a discussion of the Office’s general policies regarding communications, see Section 605.) In such cases, any changes agreed to by the applicant will be reflected in the registration record, and the corrected information will appear on the certificate of registration and in the online public record.
