1509.1(L) Foreign Literary Works
To register an unpublished literary work that was created by a citizen or national of a foreign country, the applicant should submit one complete copy or phonorecord that contains all the authorship claimed on the application.
To register a literary work that was published solely in a foreign country, the applicant should submit one complete copy or phonorecord of the work as first published in that country. See 37 C.F.R. § 202.20 (C) (1)(iv).
If the work was first published in a foreign country and then subsequently published in the United States, the applicant may submit one complete copy or phonorecord of the work as first published in the foreign country. Alternatively, the applicant may submit one complete copy or phonorecord of the best edition that was published in the United States, provided that the content of the U.S. edition is identical to the content of the foreign edition. See id.