26 Mar Copyright Office Announces New Fee Schedule for Online Registration

The Copyright Office has announced a new fee schedule for the online registration of works. Starting May 1st, standard online registrations will be raised from $35 to $55. However, the office is introducing a new streamlined option for single works by single authors  which have not been made for hire. (For a definition of Work for Hire, check our Contract Glossary.) The Single application process will only cost $35.

Upon registering their work, registrants will be asked a series of three questions which will determine whether they should use the Standard or the Single application process. Note that websites may not be registered with the streamlined option. Other categories of work which are excluded are: collective works, unpublished collections, units of publication, group registration options, databases, works by more than one author, and works with more than one owner.

Here’s the full text of the Copyright Office notice:

Copyright Office Announces New Fee Schedule; First Since 2009

The U.S. Copyright Office is announcing a new fee schedule covering registration, recordation, and related services; special services; Licensing Division services; and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) services. These fees will take effect on May 1, 2014. The final rule establishing the new fee schedule was published in the Federal Register today and is available at www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2014/79fr15910.pdf.

This new fee schedule is the product of a multiyear process of studying current Copyright Office fees, evaluating the Office’s budget requirements, and considering public comments. While a number of fees, including the fee for standard registrations, have increased to permit the Office to more fully recoup its expenses, some fees have decreased and others remain the same. The Office has also instituted a separate, lower fee for single-author, single-work registration claims. For more information, go to http://www.copyright.gov/docs/newfees.