Mandatory Deposit of Copies or Phonorecords for the Library of Congress
Table of Contents
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All works under copyright protection that are published in the United
States are subject to the mandatory deposit provision of the copyright
law.
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This law requires that 2 copies of the best edition of every copyrightable
work published in the United States be sent to the Copyright Office within
3 months of publication.
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The law also requires that the deposit be made automatically.
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Mandatory deposit also applies to foreign works at the point where they
are published in the United States through the distribution of copies
that are either imported or are part of an American edition.
On January 1, 1978, all works published with a notice of copyright in the
United States became subject to the mandatory deposit requirements of the
United States Copyright Act (title 17, United States Code). These requirements
are similar to the "legal deposit" or "depot legal" laws
in effect in other countries.
On March 1, 1989, the qualification "with notice of copyright"
was eliminated from the mandatory deposit provision. This change was made
in Public Law 100-568, the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988. As
a result of this change, all works under copyright protection and published
in the United States on or after March 1, 1989, are subject to mandatory deposit
whether published with or without a notice.
The mandatory deposit provision ensures that the Copyright Office is entitled
to receive copies of every copyrightable work published in the United States.
Section 704 of the Copyright Act states that these deposits "are available
to the Library of Congress for its collections, or for exchange or transfer
to any other library."
The copyright law in Section 407 requires requires the "owner of copyright
or of the exclusive right of publication" in a work published in the
United States to deposit the required number of copies in the Copyright Office
within 3 months of the date of such publication.
Publication is defined in the copyright law as "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."
Send deposit copies to:
Library of Congress
Register of Copyrights
Attn: 407 Deposits
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
Deposit for the collections of the Library of Congress of published works
is mandatory under section 407; registration of a copyright claim with accompanying
deposit copies is voluntary under section 408. While not a condition of copyright
protection, registration may under certain circumstances allow the owner a
broader range of remedies in infringement suits. To satisfy requirements for
both, the following must be sent in one package to the Register
of Copyrights: (1) mandatory deposit copies, (2) a completed application for
registration, and (3) a $30 nonrefundable filing fee payable to the Register
of Copyrights.
NOTE: Copyright Office fees are subject to change. For
current fees, please check the Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov,
write the Copyright Office, or call (202) 707-3000. |
If sending multiple works, all applications, deposits of copyrightable materials,
and fees should be sent in the same package, if possible. Each application
should be attached to the appropriate deposit. When a single package is not
practical, number each package in a set sequentially (e. g., 1 of 3, 2 of
4, etc.) to facilitate processing.
The law envisions that deposit will be made voluntarily to satisfy this requirement.
To enforce this legal obligation, however, or to ensure a more rapid
deposit of a work the Library needs promptly, the Register of Copyrights may
make a written demand for the required deposit at any time after publication.
If the required deposit is not made within 3 months of the demand, the person
or organization obligated to make the deposit is liable for a fine of not
more than $250 for each work plus the retail price of the copies; if the refusal
to comply is willful or repeated, an added fine of $2,500 may be incurred.
Although the deposit requirements are limited to works published in the United
States, they do apply to a work that was first published in a foreign country
as soon as that work is published in the United States through the distribution
of copies or phonorecords that are either imported or are part of an American
edition.
In general, the deposit must consist of two complete copies
or phonorecords of the best edition of the work. Regulations are available
at www.copyright.gov/title37
Sound Recordings:
If the work is a sound recording, the deposit must include two
complete phonorecords of the best edition, plus any text
or pictorial matter published with the phonorecord. Examples of the textual
material include all phonorecord packaging, record sleeves, and separate leaflets
or booklets enclosed with the phonorecords (compact disks, albums, or cassettes).
Motion Pictures:
If the work is a motion picture, the deposit consists of one
complete copy of the best edition, plus a separate description
of its contents such as a continuity, press book, or synopsis.
Machine Readable Formats:
If the work is machine readable in an IBM or Apple Macintosh-compatible format,
including CD-ROMs, the deposit consists of one complete copy
of the best edition if it is not copy protected, plus any documentation such
as a user's guide. If the work is copy protected, the deposit consists of
two copies of the best edition plus any documentation.
CD-ROM Agreements:
Under a special deposit agreement with the Library, CD-ROM publishers may
(1) deposit one copy and authorize local area network use in Library Reading
Rooms for up to five simultaneous users or (2) deposit two copies. For further
information on the agreement, write to the Chief of the Copyright Acquisitions
Division (see address below) or call (202) 707-3000.
Serials:
Under the mandatory deposit provisions of the copyright law, the owner of
copyright or of the exclusive right of publication must deposit with the Copyright
Office for the Library of Congress two complete copies of the best edition
of each issue of a serial published in the United States. Each issue is considered
a separate work for copyright purposes and should be deposited within 3 months
after the date of publication. For more efficient compliance, and to avoid
receiving written demand from the Copyright Office for the required deposit,
submitters are encouraged to place the Register of Copyrights on a subscription
list to receive automatically two complimentary copies of each issue. Send
copies to the following address:
Library of Congress
Register of Copyrights
Attn: 407 Deposits
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
Copyright claimants may also satisfy the mandatory deposit requirements by
formally registering their claims to copyright. As explained in Circular 62
claimants may register serials by using form SE/Group, Short Form SE, or Form
SE. Some serials may qualify for group registration. Issues of serials first
published on or after January 7, 1991, at intervals of a week or longer within
a 3 month period during the same calendar year can be grouped and registered
with a single application and reduced fee. The Copyright Office encourages
applicants to register those serials that qualify for group registration using
Form SE/Group, rather than registering the serial issues individually.
The definition of "best edition" of a work in the law makes clear
that the Library of Congress is entitled to receive the copies or phonorecords
of the edition that best suits its needs. Its choice may be made from any
editions that have been published in the United States before the date of
deposit.
When two or more editions of the same version of a work (e.g., for books,
hard cover and soft cover editions) have been published before the date of
deposit, the Library of Congress generally considers the one of the highest
quality to be the best edition (e.g., the hard bound edition). If, on the
date of deposit, a better edition exists but is not submitted, the Copyright
Office is entitled to request the better edition on behalf of the Library
of Congress. The Library of Congress lists criteria to follow in judging quality
in its current "best edition" statement. The criteria to be applied
in determining the best edition of each of several types of materials (such
as printed textual matter, phonorecords, microforms, motion pictures and so
forth) are listed in Circular 7b in descending order of importance to the
Library's archival collections. When the criteria listed do not apply to a
particular work, the Copyright Office will confer with appropriate officials
of the Library of Congress to obtain a determination as to the best edition
of that work.
For a detailed description of the "best edition" criteria, write
to the following address for Circular 7b, "Best Edition of Published
Copyrighted Works for the Collections of the Library of Congress":
Library of Congress
Copyright Office
Publications Section, LM-455
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
or call the 24-hour Forms and Publications Hotline at (202) 707-9100 and
leave a recorded message. Circulars also are available over the Internet at
www.copyright.gov To receive circulars
via fax, call (202) 707-2600 from any touchtone phone.
Because many deposits are not suitable for addition to the Library of Congress
collections or for use in national library programs, the Copyright Office
has issued regulations that exempt certain categories of works entirely from
the mandatory deposit requirements. These regulations also reduce the required
number of copies or phonorecords from two to one for certain other categories.
For further information about these regulations, see Part 202 of 37 CFR, Chapter
II, or contact the Copyright Office.
Serials:
Although its collections are very comprehensive, the Library of Congress
does not retain every serial title deposited in the Copyright Office. Upon
written notification from the Copyright Acquisitions Division, serial titles
not selected for the Library's collections are completely exempted from the
mandatory deposit requirements of section 407, and, if registration is sought
under section 408, the required number of deposit copies is reduced from two
to one for those exempted from mandatory deposit.
Under certain circumstances, special relief from deposit requirements may
be requested for any published work not exempt from mandatory deposit. Requests
are most frequently based on undue burden or cost to a copyright owner. The
grant of special relief is discretionary with the Copyright Office and will
depend on a careful balance of the acquisition policies of the Library of
Congress, the examining requirements of the Copyright Office (if registration
is sought), and the hardship to the copyright owner.
Requests must set forth specific reasons why special relief should be granted
and must be signed by or on behalf of the owner of copyright or the owner
of the exclusive right of publication in the work. They should be sent as
follows:
If registration is sought:
Library of Congress
Copyright Office
Chief, Examining Division, LM-445
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
Fax: (202) 707-3698
or
If only mandatory deposit is to be made:
Library of Congress
Copyright Office
Chief, Copyright Acquisitions Division, LM-438c
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6600
Fax: (202) 707-4435
Library of Congress
Copyright Office
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
www.copyright.gov
REV: July 2002
This electronic version has been altered slightly from the original printed
text for presentation on the World Wide Web. For a copy of the original
circular, consult the PDF
version or write to Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue S.E., Washington,
D.C. 20559-6000.