An applicant may use this option to register the component works within a unit of publication if the claimant is the author of those works or acquired the copyright in those works through a transfer of ownership, provided that the claimant manufactured, produced, published, packaged, or otherwise created the single, integrated unit as a whole. In other words, the unit of publication option may be used only if the claimant packaged the unit as a whole. Moreover, the claimant must own the copyright in all the component works that are claimed in the application. If the unit contains component works that are not owned by the claimant, the applicant should exclude those works from the claim using the procedure described in Chapter 600, Section 621.8(B).
Although a single, integrated unit may constitute or contain one or more collective works, the unit of publication option is not the appropriate means for registering a collective work or the component works contained therein when the collective work is not bundled with separately fixed elements. For example, a book of photographs and the images contained therein may be registered as a collective work if the claimant owns the copyright in both the images and the authorship involved in creating the book as a whole. In such cases, there should be no need to rely on the unit of publication option.
Moreover, the unit of publication option should not be viewed as a group registration option for registering contributions to published collective works. In other words, it is not an accommodation for "published collections" that mirrors the accommodation described in Section 1106 for unpublished collections. If the applicant is unable to register the component works with the unit of publication option, the applicant may register those works on an individual basis. Specifically, the applicant may prepare a separate application, filing fee, and deposit copies for each component work and may submit these items using the online application or a paper application.
As discussed in Chapter 500, Section 510, the Office generally issues only one registration per work. See 37 C.F.R. § 202.3(b)(6). Therefore, when an applicant registers a number of self-contained works with the unit of publication option, the applicant cannot add additional works to that registration at a later date. Likewise, the applicant cannot register the component works within a unit of publication and then obtain separate registrations for those works, unless the applicant satisfies one or more of the exceptions set forth in Chapter 500, Sections 510.2 or 510.3. Works that are excluded from the claim must be registered separately as individual works.
1107.3 Registration Requirements
To register a number of works with the unit of publication option, the applicant must submit a completed application, an appropriate deposit, and the correct filing fee.
The applicant may submit an online application through the electronic registration system, or in the alternative, the applicant may submit a paper application using Forms TX, VA, PA, or SR (but not Form SE). The Office strongly encourages applicants to use the electronic registration system rather than a paper application because online applications are more efficient for both the applicant and the Office. For guidance on completing the online application or the paper application, see Section 1107.4.
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