MANDATORY DEPOSIT FOR WORKS PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES
Although a copyright registration is not required, the Copyright Act establishes
a mandatory deposit requirement for works published in the United States.
In general, the owner of copyright or the owner of the exclusive right of publication
in the work has a legal obligation to deposit in the Copyright Office, within
3 months of publication in the United States, two copies (or in the case of
sound recordings, two phonorecords) for the use of the Library of Congress.
Failure to make the deposit can result in fines and other penalties but does
not affect copyright protection.
Certain categories of works are exempt entirely from the mandatory deposit
requirements, and the obligation is reduced for certain other categories.
USE OF MANDATORY DEPOSIT TO SATISFY REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS
For works published in the United States, the copyright law contains a provision
under which a single deposit can be made to satisfy both the deposit requirements
for the Library and the registration requirements. In order to have this dual
effect, the copies or phonorecords must be accompanied by the prescribed application
form and filing fee.
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