621.9(J) Reference to a Preregistration in the Previous Registration Field/Space
If the applicant provides a preregistration number in the Previous Registration field in an online application, the registration specialist will move that information to the correct portion of the registration record. If the applicant provides a preregistration number on a paper application and checks the “yes” box that appears on space 5, the specialist will register the work and will add an annotation to the registration record, such as: “Regarding previous registration: information refers to preregistration under 17 U.S.C. § 408(f), not full registration under 17 U.S.C. § 408(a).”
622 Rights and Permissions Information / Correspondent / Mail Certificate
622.1 Rights and Permissions Information
The applicant may provide the name, address, and other contact information for the person and/or organization that should be contacted for permission to use the work. Providing this information is optional and an application will be accepted even if this portion of the application is left blank.
The applicant may provide rights and permissions information in an online application on the Rights and Permissions Information screen. Currently, there is no space for this information on the paper applications.
The applicant may provide as much or as little information as the applicant prefers. For example, the applicant may provide the name of the person and/or organization who may be contacted for permission to use the work, along with the street address, telephone number, fax number, and email address (if any) for that person or organization. If the applicant prefers not to provide personally identifiable information, the applicant may provide the name and address for a third party agent or a post office box number in lieu of a street address.
If the applicant provides rights and permissions information on the application, that information will appear on the certificate of registration, which will be made available to the public upon request. In addition, rights and permissions information will appear in the online public record for the work, which can be accessed by anyone who performs a search for the work on the U.S. Copyright Office’s website. As discussed in Section 622.5, the Office will not remove this information from the online public record once a registration has been issued.
For a general discussion of privacy concerns, see Chapter 200, Section 205.
622.2 Correspondent
The applicant must provide the name, address, and other contact information for the person or persons who should be contacted if the registration specialist has questions or concerns regarding the application. This person is known as the correspondent.
As a general rule, the U.S. Copyright Office will direct all communications concerning an application or a registration to the correspondent at the email address, phone number, or mailing address provided in the registration record.
