listed in the "Best Edition Statement" set forth in Appendix B to Part 202 of the Office's regulations. 37 C.F.R. pt. 202, app. B. 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).
Generally, if the work was published in two or more editions, the edition that is the highest quality is considered to be the best edition. "In judging quality, the Library of Congress will adhere to the criteria set forth [in the Best Edition Statement] in all but exceptional cases." 37 C.F.R. pt. 202, app. B.
If the Best Edition Statement does not provide specific criteria for selecting the best edition of the work, the edition that "in the judgment of the Library of Congress, represents the highest quality for its purposes shall be considered the 'best edition.'" 37 C.F.R. § 202.19(b)(l)(iii). If the copyright owner or owner of exclusive rights is uncertain as to whether a particular published edition constitutes the best edition, that party should contact the Office's Copyright Acquisitions Division at (202) 707-7125. 37 C.F.R. § 202.19(b)(l)(iii)(B).
1511.2 What Is a Complete Copy or Phonorecord for Purposes of Mandatory Deposit?
1511.2(A) Complete Copy of a Published Work
A copy is "complete" for purposes of mandatory deposit if it contains "all elements comprising the unit of publication of the best edition of the work, including elements that, if considered separately, would not be copyrightable subject matter or would otherwise be exempt from mandatory deposit requirements." 37 C.F.R. § 202.19(b)(2).
1511.2(B) Sound Recordings
In the case of a sound recording published in the United States, a phonorecord is "complete" if it "includes the phonorecord, together with any printed or other visually perceptible material published with such phonorecord (such as textual or pictorial matter appearing on record sleeves or album covers, or embodied in leaflets or booklets included in a sleeve, album, or other container)." 37 C.F.R. § 202.19(b)(2).
1511.2(C) Musical Compositions Published by Rental, Lease, or Lending
In the case of a musical composition published in the United States solely "by the rental, lease, or lending of a full score and parts," the full score is considered a "complete" copy. 37 C.F.R. § 202.19(b)(2)(f). If the work was published solely "by the rental, lease, or lending of a conductor's score and parts," the conductor's score is considered a "complete" copy. Id. § 202.19(b)(2)(ii).
1511.2(D) Motion Pictures
In the case of a motion picture published in the United States, a copy is "complete" if "the reproduction of all the visual and aural elements comprising the copyrightable subject matter in the work is clean, undamaged, undeteriorated, and free of splices, and if the copy itself and its physical housing are free of any defects that would interfere with the
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