1106.4 Deposit Requirements
This Section discusses the deposit requirements for registering a group of unpublished works.
Applicants must submit one complete copy or phonorecord of each work that is included in the group, and each work must be submitted in an electronic format. Applicants should not submit physical copies or physical phonorecords, such as print- outs, photocopies, CDs, DVDs, or the like. See 37 C.F.R. § 202.4 (C) (9).
Specifically, applicants must upload each work to the electronic registration system as a separate electronic file, and each file must be uploaded in an acceptable file format. A current list of acceptable file formats is posted on the Office’s website, along with guidance on how to upload the files.
When completing the application, applicants must provide a title for each work in the group. As discussed in Section 1106.5 (B), the file name assigned to each electronic file should match the corresponding title provided in the application. If the titles and file names do not match each other, the registration specialist may communicate with the applicant (which will delay the registration decision), the specialist may remove the mismatched titles and files from the registration record, or the specialist may simply refuse registration.
Example:
• Annette Cole intends to register three songs titled “The Birthday Party,” “The Dinner Party,” and “The Wedding Party.” She plans to upload these songs in three separate mp3 files. Annette should provide the following information in the application, and the digital files she uploads to the Copyright Office should be named as follows:
| Titles Listed in the Application | File Names for the Digital Uploads |
| The Birthday Party | the_birthday_party.mp3 |
| The Dinner Party | the_dinner_party.mp3 |
| The Wedding Party | the_wedding_party.mp3 |
For additional guidance on file naming convention, consult the help text that accompanies the GRUW application. In all cases, the works must be submitted in an orderly manner and the size of each upload must not exceed 500MB. Applicants may compress the works to comply with this limitation.
The U.S. Copyright Office recognizes that there may be cases where an author may not have a digital copy of his or her works or may find it difficult to create a digital copy for purposes of seeking a group registration. If an applicant is unable to upload a particular work to the electronic system, the applicant may request special relief from the deposit requirements.
A request for special relief must be made in writing, and it should explain why the applicant is unable to upload a digital copy of the works. The Office may grant a request for special relief, subject to such conditions that the Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of the Office of Registration Policy and Practice may impose on the applicant.
See 37 C.F.R. §§ 202.4 (C) (10), 202.20 (D) (1)(iii), (iv).
For a general discussion of special relief, see Chapter 1500, Section 1508.8.