1504.1 Works Exempt from the Best Edition Requirement
For purposes of registration, the following types of works are exempt from the best edition requirement:
• Unpublished works (including works that were published after the claim was submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office).
• Works published solely in a foreign country.
See 37 C.F.R. § 202.20 (C) (1) (I), (C) (1)(iv).
If the work is unpublished, the applicant may upload an electronic copy of the work in an acceptable file format. The list of acceptable file formats is discussed in Section 1507 below.
Likewise, the applicant may upload an electronic copy if the work was unpublished when the claim was submitted. There is no need to submit additional copy(ies) or phonorecord(s) if the work is subsequently published while the work is being examined or after the claim has been registered or refused.
If the work was published solely in a foreign country, the applicant may submit one copy of the first published edition of that work.