623.7 Special Handling for Multiple Applications That Share the Same Deposit Copy
On occasion, an applicant will submit multiple applications together with a single deposit copy, and will ask the U.S. Copyright Office to process some – but less than all – of those applications on an expedited basis. In such cases, the Office will expedite the examination of the applications for which special handling has been requested, but will not expedite the examination of the other applications. The applicant must pay an additional fee, which will be added to the filing fee for each application and the special handling fee. The fee for this service is set forth in the Office’s fee schedule under the heading “Handling fee for each non-special-handling claim using the same deposit.”
Before processing each application the Office will ask the applicant to submit the additional fee (if it has not been paid). If the applicant prefers to avoid the additional fee, the applicant may submit a separate deposit copy for the applications that do not require special handling.
Example:
• Grantham Records intends to register a compact disc containing seven tracks. The company submits seven applications on Form PA for each song on the CD, one application on Form SR for the sound recording, and one application on Form VA for the artwork that appears on the cover of the CD. The company submits a single CD as the deposit copy for all of its applications. Grantham asks the Office to process the application for the first song on an expedited basis, because the company intends to file a lawsuit against a website that is streaming the song without permission. Grantham submits the filing fee for each application and the special handling fee for the application to register the first song. Because Grantham submitted a single CD as the deposit copy for all of its applications, the Office will ask the company to pay an additional fee for using the same deposit copy for the claims that do not require special handling. If Grantham does not wish to pay the additional fee, the company should submit a separate CD as the deposit copy for the applications that do not require expedited service.
See Policy Decision: Revised Special Handling Procedures, 56 Fed. Reg. at 37,528 (August 7, 1991); Policy Decision Announcing an Increase in the Fee for Special Handling of Applications for Copyright Registration, 49 Fed. Reg. 39,741 (Oct. 10, 1984).