- 6(b), the registration specialist may register the claim, because the application is clearly limited to the forty new poems that were published in the second edition.
621.9(D)(3) Claim Clarified by Information Provided in the Limitation of Claim Screen or Spaces 6(a) and / or 6(b) of the Paper Application
If the information provided in the New Material Included field describes both the unclaimable material and the new material that the applicant intends to register, and if the Material Excluded field has been left blank (or vice versa), the registration specialist may move the information to the correct field and register the claim without communicating with the applicant. The registration specialist may follow the same approach if the applicant failed to complete space 6(b) and if the information provided in space 6(a) of the paper application describes both the unclaimable material and the new material that the applicant intends to register (or vice versa).
Examples:
- An online application is submitted for a musical work. In the Material Excluded/Other field and in the New Material Included/Other field the applicant states “new lyrics added to previously published words and music.” The application may be accepted, even though the Material Excluded field should have described only the “previously published words and music” and the New Material Included field should have described only the “new lyrics.”
- A paper application is submitted for a doctoral thesis. The statement in space 6(a) reads “revised chapter 4; prepared new chapter 5 based on previously registered manuscript.” The application may be accepted, even though the new material should have been listed in space 6(b) rather than space 6(a). In this case, the specialist may move the statement to space 6(b) and register the claim.
621.9(D)(4) Claim Clarified by Information Provided in Space 5 of the Paper Application
If the applicant fails to complete spaces 6(a) and/or 6(b) in a paper application, the registration specialist may register the claim without communicating with the applicant, if the applicant has completed space 5. (This portion of the application poses the following question to the applicant: “Has registration for this work, or for an earlier version of this work, already been made in the Copyright Office?”) Specifically if the applicant checked box “c” in space 5, the specialist may register the claim without communicating with the applicant, provided that the work appears to be “a changed version of the work.”
621.9(D)(5) Claim Clarified by Information Provided in the Deposit Copy(ies)
If the applicant fails to complete the New Material Included and/or Material Excluded fields in an online application or fails to complete spaces 6(a) and/or 6(b) on a paper application, the application may be accepted if the scope of the claim is clearly defined
