Likewise, the applicant should provide United States as the nation of first publication if the work was first published in a foreign country that has entered into a copyright treaty with the United States and if the work was subsequently published in the United States within thirty days thereafter. 17 U.S.C. § 104(b).
If the work was first published in two or more countries on the same date or within thirty days of each other, the applicant may provide the name of each country where the work was published. In the case of an online application, the applicant may provide the name of one country on the Publication/Completion screen in the field marked Nation of First Publication. The names of the other countries may be provided in the Note to Copyright Office field. In the case of a paper application the name of each country may be provided on the application itself, on a continuation sheet, or in a cover letter. The names of the additional countries may be added to the registration record with an annotation, such as: “Regarding publication: applicant states simultaneously published in Nigeria and Ghana.”
If the applicant lists two or more countries in the application, the registration specialist will assume that the work was published in each country on the same day or within thirty days of each other, absent conflicting information in the deposit copy(ies) or elsewhere in the registration materials.
612.7(K) Nation of First Publication Unclear
If the applicant provides the name of a city, state, and country in the Nation of First Publication field/space, the registration specialist may include the name of the state and/or country, but will remove the name of the city from the registration record.
If the applicant provides the name of a state, territory, city, or other political subdivision, rather than the name of a country, the application will be accepted if the nation of first publication is obvious or if there is another basis for establishing that the work is eligible for copyright protection under U.S. copyright law. For example, the specialist will accept an application if the applicant states that the work was first published in “Quebec” or “Wales,” although “Canada” or the “United Kingdom” would be preferable.
As a general rule, statements made on a paper application, such as “published on the internet” or “published online” are not acceptable. If the applicant identifies the nation of first publication as the “internet,” “online,” the “world wide web,” or the like, the specialist may ask the applicant to provide the name of a specific country from which the work is uploaded. If the work is eligible for copyright protection in the United States based on the information provided in the application, such as the author’s citizenship or domicile, the specialist may register the claim without communicating with the applicant. In this situation, the specialist will add an annotation, such as: “Regarding publication: application states ‘internet.’”
612.7(L) Nation of First Publication Unknown
If the nation of first publication is unknown, the applicant may select “not known” from the drop down menu of the online application. When completing a paper application, the applicant may leave space 3(b) blank or may state “not known.”
