1509.2 (A) (2) (A) Musical Works Published in the United States in Phonorecords
If the musical work was published in the United States solely on phonorecords, the applicant should submit one complete phonorecord containing the published work. 37 C.F.R. § 202.20 (C) (2) (I) (H).
Ordinarily, copyright owners are required to submit the “best edition” of a published works. 17 U.S.C. § 408 (B). The “best edition” is the edition published in the United States (at any time before the deposit is received in the U.S. Copyright Office) that the Library of Congress determines to be most suitable for its purposes. 17 U.S.C. § 101.
In the case of musical works, the Office has set forth best edition requirements only for works published in print formats, such as sheet music. Musical works published solely on phonorecords or as part of a motion picture are not subject to the best edition requirement. See 37 C.F.R. Part 202, Appendix B, ¬∂ VI; see also 37 C.F.R. §§ 202.20 (B) (1) (stating that “[t]he best edition of a work has the meaning set forth in § 202.19 (B) (1)” and 202.19 (B) (1) (I) (stating that “The ‘best edition’ requirement is described in detail at Appendix B” to part 37 of the regulations).
For information concerning the deposit requirement for musical works that have been published solely in print formats or published both in print format and on phonorecords, see Section 1509.2 (A) (2) (B). For information concerning musical works that have been published solely in a motion picture, see Section 1509.2 (A) (2) (D).