- registration specialist contacts the applicant on December 1, 2012 to confirm that the work was, in fact, published on October 1, 2012. If the applicant confirms that the date of publication is correct the specialist will register the claim and will add a note to the registration record indicating that there is correspondence in the record. If the applicant confirms that the work was published on a different date (such as September 15, 2012), the specialist will amend the registration record to reflect the correct publication date. In both cases, the effective date of registration will be September 1, 2012.
625 Effective Date of Registration
The U.S. Copyright Office must receive an acceptable application, deposit copy, and filing fee before a registration can be made. When a work is registered, the Office assigns an effective date of registration to the certificate of registration. The effective date of registration (“EDR”) is the day on which an acceptable application, complete deposit copy, and filing fee, which are later determined by the Register of Copyrights or by a court of competent jurisdiction to be acceptable for registration, have all been received in the Office. 17 U.S.C. § 410(d). “Where the three necessary elements are received at different times the date of receipt of the last of them is controlling, regardless of when the Copyright Office acts on the claim.” H.R. Rep. No. 94-1476, at 157 (1976), reprinted in 1976 U.S.C.C.A.N. 5659, 5773.
625.1 Minimum Requirements for an Acceptable Application
If the applicant has made a reasonable, good faith effort to complete the relevant fields/spaces in the application, the effective date of registration will be the date that the U.S. Copyright Office received the application, provided that the applicant satisfied the minimum requirements for an acceptable, complete deposit copy and paid the applicable filing fee as of that date.
Examples:
- On January 1, 2005 the Office receives an online application for an unpublished manuscript along with the requisite deposit copy and filing fee. The application states that the title of the work is Sunny Days. On February 1, 2005, the applicant notifies the Office that the title of the work should be changed to Sunny Daze. The work will be registered with an effective date of registration of January 1, 2005.
- On April 15, 2010, the Office receives a paper application for a photograph, along with the appropriate deposit copies and filing fee. On June 15, 2010, the registration specialist notifies the applicant that the title of the work does not appear on the application, the deposit copy, or elsewhere in the registration materials. On July 15, 2010, the applicant informs the specialist that the title of the work is Image No. 9. The specialist will add the title to the registration record and will add a note to the correspondence record indicating
