1511.9 Special Relief from the Mandatory Deposit Requirement
This Section discusses the procedure for obtaining special relief from the mandatory deposit requirements. For information concerning the procedure for requesting special relief from the deposit requirements for registration, see Section 1508.8.
The Register of Copyrights is authorized to grant special relief from the mandatory deposit requirement for any published work.
• The Office may grant an exemption on an individual basis for a single work or for a series or groups of works.
• The Office may permit the deposit of one copy or phonorecord, or alternative identifying material (in lieu of submitting two copy(ies) or phonorecord(s) of the work).
• The Office may permit the deposit of incomplete copies or phonorecords or copy(ies) or phonorecords other than those normally comprising the best edition of a work.
• The Office may permit the deposit of identifying material that does not comply with Section 202.21 of the regulations.
37 C.F.R. § 202.19 (E) (1).
A request for special relief must be made in writing and must include the specific reason(s) why the request should be granted. The request should be signed by or on behalf of the copyright owner or the owner of the exclusive right of publication, and it should be sent to the Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Registration Policy & Practice at the address specified in Section 1508.8 (B). Id. § 202.19 (E) (3).
The Register of Copyrights may terminate any ongoing or continuous grant of special relief after consulting with other appropriate officials of the Library of Congress. Id. § 202.19 (E) (4). The procedure for terminating a grant of special relief from the mandatory deposit requirements is the same as the procedure for terminating a grant of special relief of the deposit requirements for registration. See Section 1508.8 (D).