37 CFR 202.6 — Preregistration and Registration of Claims to Copyright
Current through: 2024-07-01

Supplementary registration.

§ 202.6 Supplementary registration. (a) General. This section prescribes conditions relating to the filing of an application for supplementary registration under section 408(d) of title 17 of the United States Code to correct an error in a copyright registration or to amplify the information given in a registration. No correction or amplification of the information in a basic registration will be made except pursuant to the provisions of this section. As an exception, where it is discovered that a basic registration contains an error caused by the Copyright Office's own action, the Office will take appropriate measures to rectify its mistake. (b) Definitions. (1) A basic registration means any of the following: (i) A copyright registration made under sections 408, 409, and 410 of title 17 of the United States Code; (ii) A renewal registration made under section 304 of title 17 of the United States Code; or (iii) A copyright registration or a renewal registration made under title 17 of the United States Code as it existed before January 1, 1978. (2) A supplementary registration means a registration issued under section 408(d) of title 17 of the United States Code and the provisions of this section. (c) Persons entitled to file an application for supplementary registration. Supplementary registration can be made only if a basic copyright registration for the same work has already been completed. After a basic registration has been completed, any author or other copyright claimant of the work, or the owner of any exclusive right in the work, or the duly authorized agent of any such author, other claimant, or owner, who wishes to correct or amplify the information given in the basic registration for the work may file an application for supplementary registration. (d) Basis for issuing a supplementary registration. (1) Supplementary registration may be made either to correct or to amplify the information in a basic registration. (2) A correction is appropriate if information in the basic registration was incorrect at the time that basic registration was made. (3) An amplification is appropriate: (i) To supplement or clarify the information that was required by the application for the basic registration and should have been provided, such as the identity of a co-author or co-claimant, but was omitted at the time the basic registration was made; or (ii) To reflect changes in facts, other than those relating to transfer, license, or ownership of rights in the work, that occurred since the basic registration was made. (4) Supplementary registration is not appropriate: (i) To reflect a change in ownership that occurred on or after the effective date of the basic registration or to reflect the division, allocation, licensing, or transfer of rights in a work; (ii) To correct errors in statements or notices on the copies or phonorecords of a work, or to reflect changes in the content of a work; or (iii) To correct or amplify the information set forth in a basic registration that has been cancelled under § 201.7 of this chapter. (5) If an error or omission in a basic renewal registration is extremely minor, and does not involve the identity of the renewal claimant or the legal basis of the claim, supplementary registration may be made at any time. In an exceptional case, however, supplementary registration may be made to correct the name of the renewal claimant and the legal basis of the claim if clear, convincing, and objective documentation is submitted to the Copyright Office which proves that an inadvertent error was made in failing to designate the correct living statutory renewal claimant in the basic renewal registration. (6) In general, the Copyright Office will not issue a supplementary registration for a basic registration made under title 17 of the United States Code as it existed before January 1, 1978. In an exceptional case, the Copyright Office may issue a supplementary registration for such a registration, if the correction or amplification is supported by clear, convincing, and objective documentation. (e) Application for supplementary registration. (1) To seek a supplementary registration for a work registered in Class TX, PA, VA, SR, or SE, an unpublished collection, or a unit of publication registered under § 202.3, or a group of related works registered under § 202.4, an applicant must complete and submit the online application designated for supplementary registration. (2) To seek a supplementary registration for a group of unpublished works registered under § 202.4(c), a group of short online literary works registered under § 202.4(j), or a group of works published on the same album registered under § 202.4(k), an applicant must complete and submit the online application designated for supplementary registration after consultation with and under the direction of the Office of Registration Policy & Practice. (3) To seek a supplementary registration for a database that consists predominantly of photographs registered under § 202.3(b)(5), an applicant must complete and submit the online application designated for supplementary registration after consultation with and under the direction of the Visual Arts Division. (4) To seek a supplementary registration for a restored work registered under § 202.12, a database that does not consist predominantly of photographs registered under § 202.3(b)(5), or a renewal registration, an applicant must complete and submit an application using Form CA. (5) Before submitting the application, the applicant must sign a certification stating that the applicant reviewed a copy of the certificate of registration for the basic registration that will be corrected or amplified by the supplementary registration. To obtain a copy of the certificate, the applicant may submit a written request to the Records Research and Certification Section using the procedure set forth in Chapter 2400 of the Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition. (6) The appropriate filing fee, as required by § 201.3(c) of this chapter, must be included with the application or charged to an active deposit account. At the Office's discretion, the applicant may be required to pay an additional fee to make a copy of the certificate of registration for the basic registration that will be corrected or amplified by the supplementary registration. (7) Copies, phonorecords, or supporting documents cannot be made part of the record for a supplementary registration and should not be submitted with the application. (8) In an exceptional case, the Copyright Office may waive the requirements set forth in paragraph (e)(1) or (2)of this section, subject to such conditions as the Associate Register and Director of the Office of Registration Policy and Practice may impose on the applicant. (f) Effect of supplementary registration. (1) When the Copyright Office completes a supplementary registration, it will issue a certificate of supplementary registration bearing a new registration number in the appropriate class. The Office will cross-reference the records for the basic registration and the supplementary registration by placing a note in each record that identifies the registration number and effective date of registration for the related registration. (2) As provided in section 408(d) of title 17 of the United States Code, the information contained in a supplementary registration augments but does not supersede that contained in the basic registration. The basic registration will not be expunged or cancelled. [82 FR 27427, June 15, 2017, as amended at 82 FR 42738, Sept. 12, 2017; 83 FR 61550, Nov. 30, 2018; 85 FR 19668, Apr. 8, 2020; 85 FR 37347, June 22, 2020; 86 FR 10826, Feb. 23, 2021]