COMPENDIUM: Chapter 1600
Preregistration
1601 What This Chapter Covers
This Chapter provides information on the U.S. Copyright Office's practices and procedures for preregistration.
Preregistration provides certain copyright owners with the ability to sue for infringement while they are preparing their works for commercial release. The vast majority of works are not eligible for this procedure. Preregistration is primarily intended to address situations where copyrighted works are "distributed illegally via the Internet BEFORE they are even made available for sale to the public [which] severely undercuts the ability of copyright holders to receive fair and adequate compensation for their works." 151 Cong. Rec. S495 (daily ed. Jan. 25, 2005) (statement of Sen. Hatch).
For general information on the Office's practices and procedures for registration, see the following Chapters:
• Chapter 200: An Overview of the Registration Process
• Chapter 300: Copyrightable Authorship: What Can Be Registered
• Chapter 400: Who May File an Application
• Chapter 500: Identifying the Work(s) Covered by the Registration
• Chapter 600: Examination Practices
• Chapter 1400: Applications and Filing Fees
• Chapter 1500: Deposit
1602 What Is Preregistration?
In cases involving the infringement of a United States work, copyright registration is a prerequisite for filing an infringement action and for seeking an award of statutory damages and attorney's fees. See 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 411(a), 412. Often, copyright owners do not seek registration until the work has been completed and distributed to the public, which may limit the remedies that may be available in cases involving "prerelease" infringement. See H.R Rep. No. 109-33, pt. 1, at 4 (2005), reprinted in, 2005 U.S.C.C.A.N. 220, 223.
To address this concern, Congress created preregistration — a procedure that allows certain copyright owners to file an action for infringement and seek statutory damages and attorney's fees in cases where the work was infringed before the copyright owner completed the work and released it to the public. See 17 U.S.C. § 408(f)(l)-(2); see also Preregistration of Certain Unpublished Copyright Claims, 70 Fed. Reg. 42,286,
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