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Compendium of Copyright Office Practices PREFACE

This Compendium is an Office manual intended primarily for the use of the staff of the Copyright Office as a general guide to its operating problems and practices.

It is important to note that the Compendium is not a book of "rules" to be followed. Similarly, it is not a set of ready-made answers to questions arising in cases encountered in daily work.

The Compendium is a condensed digest of Office practices in individual cases representing common fact situations. It is a guide to general precedents and no more. Since the statements of practice in the Compendium are necessarily simplified, they cannot cover every situation that may arise. Each new case presented to the Office involves its own facts which may require special analysis.

The practices of the Copyright Office are subject to constant revision and modification in the light of new experience and continuing reappraisal. Accordingly, further additions, deletions, and other changes will be made from time to time. The Copyright Office will maintain a separate record of all material withdrawn from this volume as superseded. iv [1973]