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the work, especially since the owner will still be obliged to deposit copies or phonorecords of it in the Copyright Office under section 407. From the point of view of the public there are advantages in allowing the owner to do so, since registration for the published edition will put on record the facts about the work in the form in which it is actually distributed to the public. Accordingly, section 408(e), which is intended to accomplish this result, makes an exception to the general rule against allowing more than one registration for the same work. AMENDMENTS 1992 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102-307 substituted "At any time during the subsistence of the first term of copyright in any published or unpublished work in which the copyright was secured before January 1, 1978, and during the subsistence of any copyright secured on or after that date," for "At any time during the subsistence of copyright in any published or unpublished work,". 1988 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100-568, Sec. 9(a)(1), substituted "Such" for "Subject to the provisions of section 405(a), such". Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 100-568, Sec. 9(a)(2), substituted "the following conditions:" for "all of the following conditions - ", struck out subpar. (A) which read "if each of the works as first published bore a separate copyright notice, and the name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner was the same in each notice; and", and redesignated subpars. (B) and (C) as (A) and (B), respectively. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1992 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 102-307 effective June 26, 1992, but applicable only to copyrights secured between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977, and not affecting court proceedings pending on June 26, 1992, with copyrights secured before January 1, 1964, governed by section 304(a) of this title as in effect on the day before June 26, 1992, except each reference to forty-seven years in such provisions deemed to be 67 years, see section 102(g) of Pub. L. 102-307, as amended, set out as a note under section 101 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1988 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 100-568 effective Mar. 1, 1989, with any cause of action arising under this title before such date being governed by provisions in effect when cause of action arose, see section 13 of Pub. L. 100-568, set out as a note under section 101 of this title. -SECREF- SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 302, 405, 601, 704, 708 of this title; title 2 section 170; title 28 section 4001. -End- -CITE- 17 USC Sec. 409 01/19/04 -EXPCITE- TITLE 17 - COPYRIGHTS CHAPTER 4 - COPYRIGHT NOTICE, DEPOSIT, AND REGISTRATION -HEAD- Sec. 409. Application for copyright registration -STATUTE- The application for copyright registration shall be made on a form prescribed by the Register of Copyrights and shall include - (1) the name and address of the copyright claimant; (2) in the case of a work other than an anonymous or pseudonymous work, the name and nationality or domicile of the author or authors, and, if one or more of the authors is dead, the dates of their deaths; (3) if the work is anonymous or pseudonymous, the nationality or domicile of the author or authors; (4) in the case of a work made for hire, a statement to this effect; (5) if the copyright claimant is not the author, a brief statement of how the claimant obtained ownership of the copyright; (6) the title of the work, together with any previous or alternative titles under which the work can be identified; (7) the year in which creation of the work was completed; (8) if the work has been published, the date and nation of its first publication; (9) in the case of a compilation or derivative work, an identification of any preexisting work or works that it is based on or incorporates, and a brief, general statement of the additional material covered by the copyright claim being registered; (10) in the case of a published work containing material of which copies are required by section 601 to be manufactured in the United States, the names of the persons or organizations who performed the processes specified by subsection (c) of section 601 with respect to that material, and the places where those processes were performed; and (11) any other information regarded by the Register of Copyrights as bearing upon the preparation or identification of the work or the existence, ownership, or duration of the copyright. If an application is submitted for the renewed and extended term provided for in section 304(a)(3)(A) and an original term registration has not been made, the Register may request information with respect to the existence, ownership, or duration of the copyright for the original term. -SOURCE- (Pub. L. 94-553, title I, Sec. 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2582; Pub. L. 102-307, title I, Sec. 102(b)(1), June 26, 1992, 106 Stat. 266.) -MISC1- HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES HOUSE REPORT NO. 94-1476 The various clauses of section 409, which specify the information to be included in an application for copyright registration, are intended to give the Register of Copyrights authority to elicit all of the information needed to examine the application and to make a meaningful record of registration. The list of enumerated items was not exhaustive; under the last clause of the section the application may also include "any other information regarded by the Register of Copyrights as bearing upon the preparation or identification of the work or the existence, ownership, or duration of the copyright." Among the enumerated items there are several that are not now included in the Copyright Office's application forms, but will become significant under the life-plus-50 term and other provisions of the bill. Clause (5), reflecting the increased importance of the interrelationship between registration of copyright claims and recordation of transfers of ownership, requires a statement of how a claimant who is not the author acquired ownership of the copyright. Clause (9) requires that, "in the case of a compilation or derivative work" the application include "an identification of any preexisting work or works that it is based on or incorporates, and a brief, general statement of the additional material covered by the copyright claim being registered." It is intended that, under this requirement, the application covering a collection such as a song-book or hymnal would clearly reveal any works in the collection that are in the public domain, and the copyright status of all other previously-published compositions. This information will be readily available in the Copyright Office. The catch-all clause at the end of the section will enable the Register to obtain more specialized information, such as that bearing on whether the work contains material that is a "work of the United States Government." In the case of works subject to the manufacturing requirement, the application must also include information about the manufacture of the copies. AMENDMENTS 1992 - Pub. L. 102-307 inserted at end "If an application is submitted for the renewed and extended term provided for in section 304(a)(3)(A) and an original term registration has not been made, the Register may request information with respect to the existence, ownership, or duration of the copyright for the original term." EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1992 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 102-307 effective June 26, 1992, but applicable only to copyrights secured between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977, and not affecting court proceedings pending on June 26, 1992, with copyrights secured before January 1, 1964, governed by section 304(a) of this title as in effect on the day before June 26, 1992, except each reference to forty-seven years in such provisions deemed to be 67 years, see section 102(g) of Pub. L. 102-307, as amended, set out as a note under section 101 of this title. -SECREF- SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 408, 506 of this title. -End- -CITE- 17 USC Sec. 410 01/19/04 -EXPCITE- TITLE 17 - COPYRIGHTS CHAPTER 4 - COPYRIGHT NOTICE, DEPOSIT, AND REGISTRATION -HEAD- Sec. 410. Registration of claim and issuance of certificate -STATUTE- (a) When, after examination, the Register of Copyrights determines that, in accordance with the provisions of this title, the material deposited constitutes copyrightable subject matter and that the other legal and formal requirements of this title have been met, the Register shall register the claim and issue to the applicant a certificate of registration under the seal of the Copyright Office. The certificate shall contain the information given in the application, together with the number and effective date of the registration. (b) In any case in which the Register of Copyrights determines that, in accordance with the provisions of this title, the material deposited does not constitute copyrightable subject matter or that the claim is invalid for any other reason, the Register shall refuse registration and shall notify the applicant in writing of the reasons for such refusal. (c) In any judicial proceedings the certificate of a registration made before or within five years after first publication of the work shall constitute prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate. The evidentiary weight to be accorded the certificate of a registration made thereafter shall be within the discretion of the court. (d) The effective date of a copyright registration is the day on which an application, deposit, and fee, which are later determined by the Register of Copyrights or by a court of competent jurisdiction to be acceptable for registration, have all been received in the Copyright Office. -SOURCE- (Pub. L. 94-553, title I, Sec. 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2582.) -MISC1- HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES HOUSE REPORT NO. 94-1476 The first two subsections of section 410 set forth the two basic duties of the Register of Copyrights with respect to copyright registration: (1) to register the claim and issue a certificate if the Register determines that "the material deposited constitutes copyrightable subject matter and that the other legal and formal requirements of this title have been met," and (2) to refuse registration and notify the applicant if the Register determines that "the material deposited does not constitute copyrightable subject matter or that the claim is invalid for any other reason." Subsection (c) deals with the probative effect of a certificate of registration issued by the Register under subsection (a). Under its provisions, a certificate is required to be given prima facie weight in any judicial proceedings if the registration it covers was made "before or within five years after first publication of the work"; thereafter the court is given discretion to decide what evidentiary weight the certificate should be accorded. This five-year period is based on a recognition that the longer the lapse of time between publication and registration the less likely to be reliable are the facts stated in the certificate. Under section 410(c), a certificate is to "constitute prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate." The principle that a certificate represents prima facie evidence of copyright validity has been established in a long line of court decisions, and it is a sound one. It is true that, unlike a patent claim, a claim to copyright is not examined for basic validity before a certificate is issued. On the other hand, endowing a copyright claimant who has obtained a certificate with a rebuttable presumption of the validity of the copyright does not deprive the defendant in an infringement suit of any rights, it merely orders the burdens of proof. The plaintiff should not ordinarily be forced in the first instance to prove all of the multitude of facts that underline the validity of the copyright unless the defendant, by effectively challenging them, shifts the burden of doing so to the plaintiff. Section 410(d), which is in accord with the present practice of the Copyright Office, makes the effective date of registration the day when an application, deposit, and fee "which are later determined by the Register of Copyrights or by a court of competent jurisdiction to be acceptable for registration" have all been received. Where the three necessary elements are received at different times the date of receipt of the last of them is controlling, regardless of when the Copyright Office acts on the claim. The provision not only takes account of the inevitable timelag between receipt of the application and other material and the issuance of the certificate, but it also recognizes the possibility that a court might later find the Register wrong in refusing registration. REGISTRATION OF CLAIMS TO COPYRIGHTS AND RECORDATION OF ASSIGNMENTS OF COPYRIGHTS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS UNDER PREDECESSOR PROVISIONS Section 109 of Pub. L. 94-553 provided that: "The registration of claims to copyright for which the required deposit, application, and fee were received in the Copyright Office before January 1, 1978, and the recordation of assignments of copyright or other instruments received in the Copyright Office before January 1, 1978, shall be made in accordance with title 17 as it existed on December 31, 1977." -SECREF- SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in section 101 of this title. -End- -CITE- 17 USC Sec. 411 01/19/04 -EXPCITE- TITLE 17 - COPYRIGHTS CHAPTER 4 - COPYRIGHT NOTICE, DEPOSIT, AND REGISTRATION -HEAD- Sec. 411. Registration and infringement actions -STATUTE- (a) Except for an action brought for a violation of the rights of the author under section 106A(a), and subject to the provisions of subsection (b), no action for infringement of the copyright in any United States work shall be instituted until registration of the copyright claim has been made in accordance with this title. In any case, however, where the deposit, application, and fee required for registration have been delivered to the Copyright Office in proper form and registration has been refused, the applicant is entitled to institute an action for infringement if notice thereof, with a copy of the complaint, is served on the Register of Copyrights. The Register may, at his or her option, become a party to the action with respect to the issue of registrability of the copyright claim by entering an appearance within sixty days after such service, but the Register's failure to become a party shall not deprive the court of jurisdiction to determine that issue. (b) In the case of a work consisting of sounds, images, or both, the first fixation of which is made simultaneously with its transmission, the copyright owner may, either before or after such fixation takes place, institute an action for infringement under section 501, fully subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and sections 509 and 510, if, in accordance with requirements that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation, the copyright owner - (1) serves notice upon the infringer, not less than 48 hours before such fixation, identifying the work and the specific time and source of its first transmission, and declaring an intention to secure copyright in the work; and (2) makes registration for the work, if required by subsection (a), within three months after its first transmission. -SOURCE- (Pub. L. 94-553, title I, Sec. 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2583; Pub. L. 100-568, Sec. 9(b)(1), Oct. 31, 1988, 102 Stat. 2859; Pub. L. 101-650, title VI, Sec. 606(c)(1), Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5131; Pub. L. 105-80, Sec. 6, Nov. 13, 1997, 111 Stat. 1532; Pub. L. 105-304, title I, Sec. 102(d), Oct. 28, 1998, 112 Stat. 2863.) -MISC1- HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES HOUSE REPORT NO. 94-1476 The first sentence of section 411(a) restates the present statutory requirement that registration must be made before a suit for copyright infringement is instituted. Under the bill, as under the law now in effect, a copyright owner who has not registered his claim can have a valid cause of action against someone who has infringed his copyright, but he cannot enforce his rights in the courts until he has made registration. The second and third sentences of section 411(a) would alter the present law as interpreted in Vacheron & Constantin-Le Coultre Watches, Inc. v. Benrus Watch Co., 260 F.2d 637 (2d Cir. 1958). That case requires an applicant, who has sought registration and has been refused, to bring an action against the Register of Copyrights to compel the issuance of a certificate, before suit can be brought against an infringer. Under section 411, a rejected claimant who has properly applied for registration may maintain an infringement suit if notice of it is served on the Register of Copyrights. The Register is authorized, though not required, to enter the suit within 60 days; the Register would be a party on the issue of registrability only, and a failure by the Register to join the action would "not deprive the court of jurisdiction to determine that issue." Section 411(b) is intended to deal with the special situation presented by works that are being transmitted "live" at the same time they are being fixed in tangible form for the first time. Under certain circumstances, where the infringer has been given advance notice, an injunction could be obtained to prevent the unauthorized use of the material included in the "live" transmission. AMENDMENTS 1998 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105-304, in first sentence, struck out "actions for infringement of copyright in Berne Convention works whose country of origin is not the United States and" after "Except for" and inserted "United States" after "copyright in any". 1997 - Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 105-80 amended par. (1) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (1) read as follows: "serves notice upon the infringer, not less than ten or more than thirty days before such fixation, identifying the work and the specific time and source of its first transmission, and declaring an intention to secure copyright in the work; and". 1990 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101-650 inserted "and an action brought for a violation of the rights of the author under section 106A(a)" after "United States". 1988 - Pub. L. 100-568, Sec. 9(b)(1)(A), substituted "Registration and infringement actions" for "Registration as prerequisite to infringement suit" in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100-568, Sec. 9(b)(1)(B), substituted "Except for actions for infringement of copyright in Berne Convention works whose country of origin is not the United States, and subject" for "Subject". Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 100-568, Sec. 9(b)(1)(C), substituted "work, if required by subsection (a)," for "work". EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1990 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 101-650 effective 6 months after Dec. 1, 1990, see section 610 of Pub. L. 101-650, set out as an Effective Date note under section 106A of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1988 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 100-568 effective Mar. 1, 1989, with any cause of action arising under this title before such date being governed by provisions in effect when cause of action arose, see section 13 of Pub. L. 100-568, set out as a note under section 101 of this title. -SECREF- SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 101, 412, 501 of this title. -End- -CITE- 17 USC Sec. 412 01/19/04 -EXPCITE- TITLE 17 - COPYRIGHTS CHAPTER 4 - COPYRIGHT NOTICE, DEPOSIT, AND REGISTRATION -HEAD- Sec. 412. Registration as prerequisite to certain remedies for infringement -STATUTE- In any action under this title, other than an action brought for a violation of the rights of the author under section 106A(a) or an action instituted under section 411(b), no award of statutory damages or of attorney's fees, as provided by sections 504 and 505, shall be made for - (1) any infringement of copyright in an unpublished work commenced before the effective date of its registration; or (2) any infringement of copyright commenced after first publication of the work and before the effective date of its registration, unless such registration is made within three months after the first publication of the work. -SOURCE- (Pub. L. 94-553, title I, Sec. 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2583; Pub. L. 101-650, title VI, Sec. 606(c)(2), Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5131.) -MISC1- HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES HOUSE REPORT NO. 94-1476 The need for section 412 arises from two basic changes the bill will make in the present law. (1) Copyright registration for published works, which is useful and important to users and the public at large, would no longer be compulsory, and should therefore be induced in some practical way. (2) The great body of unpublished works now protected at common law would automatically be brought under copyright and given statutory protection. The remedies for infringement presently available at common law should continue to apply to these works under the statute, but they should not be given special statutory remedies unless the owner has, by registration, made a public record of his copyright claim. Under the general scheme of the bill, a copyright owner whose work has been infringed before registration would be entitled to the remedies ordinarily available in infringement cases: an injunction on terms the court considers fair, and his actual damages plus any applicable profits not used as a measure of damages. However, section 412 would deny any award of the special or "extraordinary" remedies of statutory damages or attorney's fees where infringement of copyright in an unpublished work began before registration or where, in the case of a published work, infringement commenced after publication and before registration (unless registration has been made within a grace period of three months after publication). These provisions would be applicable to works of foreign and domestic origin alike. In providing that statutory damages and attorney's fees are not recoverable for infringement of unpublished, unregistered works, clause (1) of section 412 in no way narrows the remedies available under the present law. With respect to published works, clause (2) would generally deny an award of those two special remedies where infringement takes place before registration. As an exception, however, the clause provides a grace period of three months after publication during which registration can be made without loss of remedies; full remedies could be recovered for any infringement begun during the three months after publication if registration is made before that period has ended. This exception is needed to take care of newsworthy or suddenly popular works which may be infringed almost as soon as they are published, before the copyright owner has had a reasonable opportunity to register his claim. AMENDMENTS 1990 - Pub. L. 101-650 inserted "an action brought for a violation of the rights of the author under section 106A(a) or" after "other tha

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