# Compendium of US Copyright Office Practices, II (1984)/900

Chapter 900
PUBLICATION
Outline of Topics
901Applicability of this chapter. 902Statutory provision. 903Authorization by the copyright owner. 904General policy concerning publication. 905Distribution as publication. 905.01Multiple copies or phonorecords. 905.02To the public. 905.03Deposit in a public library. 905.04Deposit for registration in the Copyright Office. 905.05By sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. 906Offering to distribute as publication. 906.01No existing copies or phonorecords. 906.02To a group of persons. 906.03For purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display. 907Alternative forms of publication. 908Public performance or display not a publication. 908.01To perform. 908.02To display. 908.03Public or private. 909Publication of recorded material first distributed before January 1, 1978.
­ 910Date and nation of first publication. 910.01General policy concerning date and nation of first publication. 910.02Choice of a date of first publication. 910.03Release date. 910.04Embodiment of previously unpublished material in another work. 910.05Publication of part of a work. 910.06Publication in serial form. 910.07Publication of separate parts or installments. 910.08Previous registration and new versions. 910.09Works first published outside the United states. 911Problems relating to date of publication. 911.01No date of publication. 911.02Incomplete date. 911.03Impossible or improbable date. 911.04Other calendrical systems. 911.05Separate parts or installments. 911.06Previous edition or version. 912Indicia of publication. 912.01Appearance of deposited material.
Chapter 900
PUBLICATION
Statutory provisions. Publication is the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display, constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute
Multiple copies or phonorecords. The statutory definition refers to the distribution of "copies or phonorecords." A work which exists in only one copy or phonorecord is generally not regarded as published when the single existing copy or phonorecord is transferred by sale or otherwise, or when it is rented, leased, or lent. However, where multiple copies are available for distri­bution, the transfer, rental, lease, or lending of a single copy or phonorecord will be suffi­cient for registration to be made as a published work.
Examples:
To the public. In order for publication to occur by the distribution of copies or phonorecords, such distribution must be "to the public" rather than a more limited distribution. Generally, members of the public are persons who are under no implied or express restriction with respect to disclosure of the work's contents. See H.R. Rep. 94-1476, 94th Cong., 2d Sess. 138 (1976).
Examples:
NOTE: The fact that the copies bear a statement indicating that their distribution has been restricted or limited in some way will generally not constitute a sufficient basis for questioning whether or not publication occurred.
Examples:
Offering to distribute as publication. The offering by the copyright owner, or under his or her authority, to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display, constitutes publica­tion. See 17 U.S.C. 101. The statutory definition implies that the offering to distribute must be of existing multiple copies or phonorecords.
Examples:
No existing copies or phonorecords. The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords before any are available in a form ready for distribution does not constitute publication.
Examples:
To a group of persons. The offering to dis­tribute copies or phonorecords must be to a group of persons.
Example:
For purposes of further distribution, public per­formance, or public display. The purpose of the offering must be further distribution, public performance, or public display. Hence an offering to distribute to a group of persons for their pri­vate use, private performance, or private display is not a publication.
Example:
Examples:
Examples:
Choice of a date of first publication. When the applicant is uncertain as to the date to be given in the application, the Copyright Office may out­ line the following factors to be considered:
Embodiment of previously unpublished material in another work. The inclusion of an unpublished work in another work that is later published results in the publication of the first work to the extent that it is disclosed in the published work.
Examples:
Publication of part of a work. Publication of a portion of a work does not necessarily mean that the work as a whole has been published.
Examples:
Incomplete date. An application lacking one or more of the three necessary elements of the date of publication (month, day, and year) will not be accepted. Where the element is missing from the appropriate space on the application, the Copy­right Office may either request the information and add it to the application, or request a new application. Similarly, an application containing a date extending over a period of time will not be accepted.
Examples of unacceptable statements:
Appearance of deposited material. Material sub­mitted as published will not generally be ques­tioned on the single ground that such material is handmade or,in preliminary,form, e.g., photocopies, mimeographed copies, etc., if publication in that form appears normal in the light of the nature of the work. However, such material may be questioned when the copies con­tain deletions or insertions, or when the copies appear to be incomplete.
Examples:
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