1509.2(G) Foreign Works of the Performing Arts
To register an unpublished work of the performing arts that was created by a citizen or national of a foreign country, the applicant should submit one complete copy or phonorecord of the work that contains all the authorship claimed on the application.
To register a work of the performing arts that was published solely in a foreign country, the applicant should submit one complete copy or phonorecord of the work as first published in that country. 37 C.F.R. § 202.20(c)(l)(iv); see also 37 C.F.R., pt. 202, app. B ("For works first published only in a country other than the United States, the law requires the deposit of the best edition as first published.")
If the work was published in a foreign country and then subsequently published in the United States, the applicant may submit one complete copy or phonorecord of the work as first published in the foreign country. Alternatively, the applicant may submit one complete copy or phonorecord of the best edition of the work as published in the United States. See id. As discussed in Section 1504, the criteria used to determine the best edition for a particular work are listed in the "Best Edition Statement" set forth in Appendix B to Part 202 of the Office's regulations. The Best Edition Statement is also posted on the Office's website in Circular 7B: Best Edition of Published Copyrighted Works for the Collections of the Library of Congress (www.copyright.gov/circs/circ07b.pdf).
1509.2(H) GATT Works of the Performing Arts
GATT is an international trade agreement that extended copyright protection to certain classes of works that were in the public domain in the United States, such as sound recordings that were first fixed outside the United States before February 15, 1972. For information concerning the deposit requirements for such works, see Section 1509. 1(J).
1509.2(1) Registration Deposit Requirements for Works of the Performing Arts: At a Glance
The following charts provide a brief summary of the deposit requirements for various types of works of the performing arts. For a detailed discussion of these requirements, see Sections 1509.2(A) through 1509.2(H) above.
General Requirements
Nature of the Work
Published
Unpublished
Unpublished works
n/a
One complete copy or
phonorecord representing the
entire copyrightable content
Works first published in the United States before 1/1/78
Two complete copies or phonorecords of the work as first published
n/a
Chapter 1500 : 51
12/22/2014
