Page:Copyright Office Compendium 3rd Edition - Full.djvu/670

, Third Edition 1103 Registration as a Single Work: The Unit of Publication Option

The U.S. Copyright Office has established an administrative procedure that allows an applicant to register a number of works that were packaged or physically bundled together as a single unit by the claimant and first published on the same date. This is known as the "unit of publication" option.

A registration issued under this option covers each work in the unit that is owned by the copyright claimant.

A unit of publication is different from the unpublished collection option in that the works in the unit cannot be aggregated simply for the purpose of registration, but rather must have been first distributed to the public in the packaged unit. Moreover, a unit of publication is not a compilation of works, but rather a package of distinct and separate copies or phonorecords that are distributed to the public as a bundled unit. A unit may, however, contain a compilation or collective work, such as a CD of sound recordings packaged with cover art and liner notes, etc.

For additional information concerning this option, see Section 1107.

1104 Group Registration

The U.S. Copyright Office has established administrative procedures that allow

an applicant to register multiple works in certain limited categories with one application

and one filing fee. This procedure is known as a group registration. Where applicable,

this may be the most convenient and cost effective way to register multiple works of

authorship.

The applicant must decide whether group registration is the optimal means of registering the works at issue. Group registration options have particular requirements, and in some cases, limitations. For example, applicants who avail themselves of these options should recognize that a registration for a group of related works provides less detailed information about the various works in the group. The applicant should weigh the costs and benefits of these various options in determining whether to register a work on an individual basis or as a group.

1104.1 What Is a Group Registration?

When Congress enacted the Copyright Act of 1976, it authorized the Register of Copyrights to establish "the administrative classes into which works are to be placed for purposes of deposit and registration, and the nature of the copies or phonorecords to be deposited in the various classes specified." 17 U.S.C. § 408(c)(1). In addition, Congress gave the Register the discretion to "require or permit... a single registration for a group of related works." Id.

As the legislative history explains, allowing "a number of related works to be registered together as a group represent[ed] a needed and important liberalization of the law." H.R. REP. No. 94-1476, at 154 (1976), reprinted in 1976 U.S.C.CA.N. 5659, 5770. Congress recognized that requiring separate applications "where related works or parts of a work are published separately" may impose "unnecessary burdens and expenses on authors

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