211 General Policies Regarding Inaccuracies and Misrepresentations
211.1 Material Misrepresentations
Knowingly making a false representation of a material fact in an application for copyright registration, or in any written statement filed in connection with the application, is a crime that is punishable under 17 U.S.C. § 506(e).
211.2 Immaterial Inaccuracies in the Application
As a general rule, the registration specialist may ignore immaterial inaccuracies in the application that appear to be inadvertent and do not affect the registrability of the claim. For information concerning the U.S. Copyright Office’s practices and procedures for dealing with inaccuracies in an application, see Chapter 600, Section 603.
211.3 Minor Substantive Errors Found Post-Registration
If the information set forth in the registration record is incorrect or incomplete, an applicant may be able to correct that error or omission by submitting an application for a supplementary registration, or under certain limited circumstances, by submitting a new application for a new basic registration. For a discussion of these procedures, see Chapter 1800, Sections 1802 and 1803.
If the U.S. Copyright Office discovers a minor substantive error in the registration record, it may attempt to correct that error through a procedure known as a referral. For a general discussion of this procedure, see Chapter 1800, Section 1804.
211.4 Major Substantive Errors Found Post-Registration
If the U.S. Copyright Office discovers a major substantive error in the registration record, it may contact the applicant to correct the error, or it may cancel the registration if warranted under the Office’s cancellation regulations. For a discussion of cancellation, see Chapter 1800, Section 1806.
212 The Registration Process at a Glance
The following chart illustrates the registration process from start to finish:
