Copyright Filing Service Options and Federal Registration Rules

Submit an application, fee, and deposit identifying the author, claimant, publication status, and excluded material.

Published fees are $45 for eligible single-author electronic claims, $65 for standard electronic claims, and $125 for paper. The $45 option excludes work made for hire.

The copyright filing process receives no preferential review through an intermediary.

Before hiring a provider, distinguish government fees from service charges. The agreement should explain whether responding to examiner questions, revising deposits, or correcting application errors requires additional payment. A filing receipt confirms submission, not registration approval.

An agent may prepare deposits and correspondence; an attorney can examine ownership and litigation risks. Neither guarantees registration.

Judiciary Law § 478 restricts unauthorized legal practice. An agent's filing authority does not authorize legal advice. Contracts should allocate ownership checks and correction costs.

The Single Application also has eligibility restrictions. The author and claimant must be the same individual, and the work cannot be made for hire. An applicant who does not meet these conditions must use another appropriate filing option.

Special handling requires litigation, customs, or qualifying contract or publishing urgency. Approval is discretionary.

The additional fee is $800 per claim, plus the regular filing fee. The Office aims to examine approved claims within five working days but does not guarantee completion.

A request must identify an accepted reason for urgency. A commercial deadline alone does not establish eligibility unless it meets the Office's criteria. Expedited examination changes processing priority, not the legal requirements for registration.

Section 411(a) generally requires registration or refusal before suit for a U.S. .ork, subject to exceptions. Submission alone is insufficient.

For content piracy disputes, registration status matters. An acceptable application, fee, and deposit generally set the effective registration date, but suit usually awaits an Office decision.

ECO accepts standard and designated group applications. Some physical publications require a mailed best-edition deposit even with an electronic application. Paper filing does not waive deposit or publication requirements.

The deposit must correspond to the work identified in the application. Previously registered material, public-domain content, or third-party material may require exclusion from the claim. Uploading a complete work does not establish ownership of every component.

GRUW covers two to ten unpublished works of the same type and author(s). Every author must be a claimant, even after a transfer.

Each GRUW work needs its own digital deposit. Published works and mixed author groups require other filings.

Photo-group rules allow up to 750 images with common authorship and claimant. Published photos must share a calendar year and a corresponding title list.

For corporate portfolios, identical ownership does not establish group eligibility. Works created by different freelancers may require separate applications. An assignment may establish ownership without satisfying GRUW's requirement that the same authors appear across the group.

Sections 101 and 201(b) cover qualifying employee works; commissioned works require a signed agreement and statutory category.

Paying a freelancer does not transfer ownership. Section 204(a) generally requires signed transfers. Review technology and IP transactions before naming claimants.

A company should distinguish employees from independent contractors and identify any preexisting materials incorporated into the work. Ownership of a finished product does not necessarily include copyrights in licensed illustrations, photographs, software, or other components.

Under § 411(b), only knowingly inaccurate information that would cause refusal triggers the statutory exception; courts seek the Register's view.

Section 412 limits statutory damages and attorney's fees for infringement begun before registration, subject to exceptions including registration within three months of publication.