- from being imported into the United States. The request for special handling will be granted.
- I.P. Asset Advisors intends to make a loan to a songwriter. The company intends to take a security interest in the songwriter’s works as collateral for the loan. The loan agreement stipulates that the security interest must be recorded with the Office on or before the date that the deal closes. The company submits a copy of the loan agreement and asks the Office to record the document on an expedited basis. The request for special handling will be granted.
See Fees for Special Handling of Registration Claims, 74 Fed. Reg. at 39,900–01; Policy Decision: Revised Special Handling Procedures, 56 Fed. Reg. at 37,528; Policy Decision Fixing Fees for the Special Handling of Import Statements and Documents, 50 Fed. Reg. at 46,206.
623.3 Examination Guidelines: Special Handling
The U.S. Copyright Office will apply the same practices and procedures when examining a claim to copyright or a document pertaining to copyright, regardless of whether the applicant asks for special handling.
The fact that the Office issued a registration or recorded a document on an expedited basis will not be mentioned in the certificate or the online public record. However, the Office will retain a copy of the request for special handling in the registration record or the recordation record.
623.4 Timeline for Special Handling Requests
Once a request for special handling has been received and the request has been granted, the U.S. Copyright Office will make every attempt to examine the application or the document within five working days, although the Office cannot guarantee that all applications or all documents will be registered or recorded within that timeframe.
As a general rule, the Office will issue a certificate of registration or a certificate of recordation within five working days if it is clear that the material deposited constitutes copyrightable subject matter and that the other legal and formal requirements of U.S. copyright law have been met.
If there are questions or issues that prevent the Office from registering the work or recording the document, the Office generally will notify the party that submitted the application or document within five working days. If the applicant responds to this communication, the Office will provide its response to the applicant’s communication(s) within a reasonable amount of time.
If it is clear that the requirements of the law have not been met, the Office will refuse to register the claim or will refuse to record the document. A refusal will be made in a written communication that will be sent to the party that submitted the application or document. However, the Office cannot guarantee that a decision will be made or that the refusal will be issued within the timeframe specified above.
