# United States Code/Title 17/Chapter 7/Sections 708 and 709

From the U.S. Copyright Office.: Added by section 101 of title I of the Copyright Act of 1976 (Pub. L. 94-553, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2541), with effect from January 1, 1978, as amended by Public Laws 101-318, 102-307, 105-80 and 106-379.
§ 708—Copyright Office fees
(a) FEES.—Fees shall be paid to the Register of Copyrights—
    (1) on filing each application under section 408 for registration of a copyright claim or for a supplementary registration, including the issuance of a certificate of registration if registration is made;
    (2) on filing each application for registration of a claim for renewal of a subsisting copyright under section 304(a), including the issuance of a certificate of registration if registration is made;
    (3) for the issuance of a receipt for a deposit under section 407;
    (4) for the recordation, as provided by section 205, of a transfer of copyright ownership or other document;
    (5) for the filing, under section 115(b), of a notice of intention to obtain a compulsory license;
    (6) for the recordation, under section 302(c), of a statement revealing the identity of an author of an anonymous or pseudonymous work, or for the recordation, under section 302(d), of a statement relating to the death of an author;
    (7) for the issuance, under section 706, of an additional certificate of registration;
    (8) for the issuance of any other certification; and
    (9) for the making and reporting of a search as provided by section 705, and for any related services.
The Register is authorized to fix fees for other services, including the cost of preparing copies of Copyright Office records, whether or not such copies are certified, based on the cost of providing the service.
(b) ADJUSTMENT OF FEES.—The Register of Copyrights may, by regulation, adjust the fees for the services specified in paragraphs (1) through (9) of subsection (a) in the following manner:
    (1) The Register shall conduct a study of the costs incurred by the Copyright Office for the registration of claims, the recordation of documents, and the provision of services. The study shall also consider the timing of any adjustment in fees and the authority to use such fees consistent with the budget.
    (2) The Register may, on the basis of the study under paragraph (1), and subject to paragraph (5), adjust fees to not more than that necessary to cover the reasonable costs incurred by the Copyright Office for the services described in paragraph (1), plus a reasonable inflation adjustment to account for any estimated increase in costs.
    (3) Any fee established under paragraph (2) shall be rounded off to the nearest dollar, or for a fee less than $12, rounded off to the nearest 50 cents.
    (4) Fees established under this subsection shall be fair and equitable and give due consideration to the objectives of the copyright system.
    (5) If the Register determines under paragraph (2) that fees should be adjusted, the Register shall prepare a proposed fee schedule and submit the schedule with the accompanying economic analysis to the Congress. The fees proposed by the Register may be instituted after the end of 120 days after the schedule is submitted to the Congress unless, within that 120-day period, a law is enacted stating in substance that the Congress does not approve the schedule.
(c) The fees prescribed by or under this section are applicable to the United States Government and any of its agencies, employees, or officers, but the Register of Copyrights has discretion to waive the requirement of this subsection in occasional or isolated cases involving relatively small amounts.
(d)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), all fees received under this section shall be deposited by the Register of Copyrights in the Treasury of the United States and shall be credited to the appropriations for necessary expenses of the Copyright Office. Such fees that are collected shall remain available until expended. The Register may, in accordance with regulations that he or she shall prescribe, refund any sum paid by mistake or in excess of the fee required by this section.
    (2) In the case of fees deposited against future services, the Register of Copyrights shall request the Secretary of the Treasury to invest in interestbearing securities in the United States Treasury any portion of the fees that, as determined by the Register, is not required to meet current deposit account demands. Funds from such portion of fees shall be invested in securities that permit funds to be available to the Copyright Office at all times if they are determined to be necessary to meet current deposit account demands. Such investments shall be in public debt securities with maturities suitable to the needs of the Copyright Office, as determined by the Register of Copyrights, and bearing interest at rates determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration current market yields on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of comparable maturities.
    (3) The income on such investments shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States and shall be credited to the appropriations for necessary expenses of the Copyright Office.
§ 709—Delay in delivery caused by disruption of postal or other services
In any case in which the Register of Copyrights determines, on the basis of such evidence as the Register may by regulation require, that a deposit, application, fee, or any other material to be delivered to the Copyright Office by a particular date, would have been received in the Copyright Office in due time except for a general disruption or suspension of postal or other transportation or communications services, the actual receipt of such material in the Copyright Office within one month after the date on which the Register determines that the disruption or suspension of such services has terminated, shall be considered timely.

## Amendment history

Sections 708 to 710 were added by § 101 of title I of the Copyright Act of 1976 (Pub. L. 94-553, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2541), with effect from January 1, 1978.
* Section 710 ("Reproduction for use of the blind and physically handicapped: Voluntary licensing forms and procedures") was repealed by the Work Made For Hire and Copyright Corrections Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-379, Oct. 27, 2000, 114 Stat. 1444), with effect from October 27, 2000. [§ 3(a)(1)]

### Copyright Fees and Technical Amendments Act of 1989

Pub. L. 101-318, July 3, 1990, 104 Stat. 287.
* Substituted new text for subsection 708(a), with effect from January 3, 1991.
* Added new subsection 708(b), with effect from January 3, 1991.
* Renumbered old subsections 708(b) and (c) as new subsections 708(c) and (d), with effect from January 3, 1991.
These amendments apply to:
    (A) claims to original, supplementary, and renewal copyright received for registration, and to items received for recordation in the Copyright Office, on or after such effective date, and
    (B) other requests for services received on or after the effective date, or received before the effective date for services not yet rendered as of such date.
Claims to original, supplementary, and renewal copyright received for registration and items received for recordation in acceptable form in the Copyright Office before the effective date, and requests for services which are rendered before the effective date are be governed by section 708 of title 17, United States Code, as in effect before the effective date.

### Copyright Renewal Act of 1992

Pub. L. 102-307, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 264.
* Amended paragraph 708(a)(2) by deleting the words "in its first term" and by substituting "$20" in lieu of "$12".

### Public Law 105-80

Pub. L. 105-80, Nov. 13, 1997, 111 Stat. 1529.
* Substituted new text for subsections 708(b) and (d).

### Work Made For Hire and Copyright Corrections Act of 2000

Pub. L. 106-379, Oct. 27, 2000, 114 Stat. 1444;
* Substituted new text for subsection 708(a). [§ 3(a)(3)(A)]
* Substituted new text for the first sentence of subsection 708(b). [§ 3(a)(3)(B)(i)]
* Amended paragraph 708(b)(1) by substituting "adjustment" for "increase". [§ 3(a)(3)(B)(ii)]
* Amended paragraph 708(b)(2) by substituting "adjust" for "increase". [§ 3(a)(3)(B)(iii)]
* Amended paragraph 708(b)(5) by substituting "adjusted" for "increased". [§ 3(a)(3)(B)(iv)]
The fees set under the previous wording of subsection 508(a) continue in force until adjusted. [§ 3(c)(2)]

## Fees

Copyright Office Fees are codified in 37 C.F.R. § 201.3