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, Third Edition 621.8(G)&emsp;Identifying Preregistered Material

If the is seeking a  for a work that has been preregistered, the applicant should provide the  number for that work in the application for basic registration. Doing so ensures that the records for the preregistration and the basic registration are cross-referenced with each other.

When completing an online application, the applicant should provide the preregistration number for the work (beginning with the prefix “PRE”) on the Publication/Completion screen in the field marked Preregistration Number. The applicant should not provide this information on the Limitation of Claim screen in the field marked Previous Registration.

When completing a paper application, the applicant should provide the preregistration number in space 5 of the application and check the box marked “no” that appears in that space under the heading Previous Registration.

For a detailed discussion of preregistration, see.

621.9&emsp;Examination Guidelines: Limitation of Claim

This Section discusses the U.S. Copyright Office’s practices and procedures for examining applications for, , , or any other work that contains an appreciable amount of unclaimable material.

As a general rule, “[a]ny substantive editing of authorship and/or new matter statements and/or material excluded from claim statements, will be done only after contacting the applicant for permission to amend the information” set forth in that portion of the application. Online Registration to Claims of Copyright, 72 Fed. Reg. 36,883, 36,887 (July 6, 2007). In some cases, the may annotate the registration  to clarify the extent of the claim and to identify material that should be excluded from the claim. In other cases, the scope of the claim may be clear from the face of the application, even though the application is incomplete or has been completed incorrectly. If the scope of the claim is unclear and the issue cannot be addressed with an, the registration specialist will communicate with the applicant.

621.9(A)&emsp;Limitation of Claim Not Required

621.9(A)(1)&emsp;Works Containing Uncopyrightable Material or a Minimal Amount of Unclaimable Material

As discussed in, if a work contains only a minimal amount of unclaimable material, the New Material Included, Material Excluded, and Previous Registration fields may be left blank in the online application, or spaces 5, 6(a), and/or 6(b) may be left blank in a paper application. Likewise, there is no need to complete these portions of the application if the work contains material that is not. Chapter 600 : 213