including those deposited in connection with claims that have been refused registration, are the property of the United States Government." 17 U.S.C. § 704(a).
Unpublished and published deposit materials that are submitted to the Office in a hard copy format are stored in offsite storage facilities, unless the deposit copy(ies) are selected by the Library of Congress for its collections or unless the deposit has been returned to the applicant under the Motion Picture Agreement. Unpublished deposit materials are stored for the entire term of copyright. Published deposit materials are currently stored for twenty years.
If the Office closes a file for a published work without issuing a registration or refuses to register a published work, the deposit materials may be offered to the Library for disposition and may or may not be selected for the Library's collections.
1510.2 Requests for Full-Term Deposit Storage for Published Works
Full-term retention of published deposit copy(ies) may be requested in certain circumstances. This option offers copyright owners the opportunity to ensure that copies or phonorecords of their works will remain in the custody of the U.S. Copyright Office for seventy-five years from the date of first publication. A request for full-term retention may be approved by the Office of Public Records and Repositories under the following conditions:
• The work is published;
• Copyright registration is approved;
• The appropriate fee is received; and
• The copy has been continuously in the custody of the U.S. Copyright Office.
See 37 C.F.R. § 202.23(a)-(c). The Office reserves the right to deny requests for full-term storage.
For information on how to request full-term storage of published deposits, see Chapter 2400, Section 2410.
1510.3 Requests for Inspection or Copies of Deposits
Upon request, any member of the public may inspect the deposit copy(ies) or identifying material for a work that has been registered or refused by the U.S. Copyright Office. Certain parties may request a certified or uncertified copy of the deposit copy(ies) or identifying material for a copyright claim, provided that the party satisfies the conditions set forth in the Office's regulations.
For information concerning these procedures, see Chapter 2400, Section 2407.
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12/22/2014
