site was first published. If the applicant takes this approach, the registration will cover that content as it existed on the date of publication specified in the initial application, provided that the content (i) is contained within the deposit, (ii) is owned by the claimant named in the application, and (iii) has not been previously published or previously registered with the Office.
If the applicant subsequently submits an application to register subsequent versions of the website, the registration will cover the new or revised material that was first published on the date specified in the subsequent application. As a general rule, the applicant should submit a separate application for each separately published update or revision to the website that the applicant wishes to register. If this is impracticable, the applicant may decide to seek one or more strategic registrations that cover the published content that is most valuable to the claimant.
1008.6(B) Unpublished Website Content
If the applicant determines that the content was placed online solely for the purpose of public display or public performance, the work may be deemed unpublished. If so, the applicant may register all of the copyrightable material that appears on the website as of the date that the application is submitted, provided that the material (i) is reflected in the deposit, (ii) is owned by the claimant named in the application, and (iii) has not been previously published or previously registered with the Office. If the website contains an appreciable amount of previously published, previously registered material, or material that is owned by a third party, the applicant must exclude that material from the claim. If copyrightable material is subsequently added to the website, the applicant may seek a new registration for the new or revised material when the claimant determines that further protection is desirable.
In some cases, it may be possible to register a number of unpublished works with one application. Specifically, an applicant may register a number of unpublished works as an unpublished collection, provided that the works are combined and assembled in an orderly form with a single title, and provided that the claimant is the same for all the elements and at least one author contributed copyrightable authorship to all of those elements. For a detailed discussion of this option, see Chapter 1100, Section 1106. It also may be possible to register a website as an unpublished collective work, provided that the site contains a sufficiently creative selection, coordination, and/or arrangement of content. For a detailed discussion of collective works, see Chapter 500, Section 509.
1008.7 Statutory Damages
In determining whether to register the content of a website separately or together the applicant should consider the potential impact on the copyright owner's ability to seek damages in the event that a third party infringes that content.
It is possible to register vast amounts of material that appear together on a website with one application if the content qualifies as a compilation, a collective work, or contribution to a collective work. It also may be possible to register an updated version of a website that contains vast amounts of new or revised content if it qualifies as a derivative version of the original website. However, derivative works, compilations, and collective works are considered one work for purposes of calculating statutory
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