Copyright Office Eliminates Three-Month Filing Requirement For Newspapers

Co-authored by: Savannah Merceus

On Feb. 13, 2019, the U.S. Copyright Office amended its rule governing group registration of newspapers by eliminating the requirement that claims be submitted within three months after publication of the earliest issue in the group.¹ In its new amendment, the Office noted that several newspaper publishers reported issues with complying with the three-month deadline and found a "legitimate need to make this change effective immediately."²

In 1992, the Copyright Office created a group registration option that allowed publishers to register a month of issues under one application and a single filing fee.³ Under the group registration, applicants were required to submit a paper application and microfilm deposit copies within three months after publication of the most recent issue. The Office states that the deadline "was intended to benefit the Library of Congress by ensuring that newspaper issues could be added to its collections and