Copyright Office Proposes Deferred Examination For New Registrants

The US Copyright Office is studying whether to expedite the time it takes to obtain a copyright registration by allowing registrants to opt for "deferred examination" of their submissions, according to an announcement by the office issued December 10, 2021. Currently, when a copyright owner applies to register a copyright, the Copyright Office examines the underlying work to determine whether it contains copyrightable material and whether statutory formalities have been met. This process is time-consuming-it can take anywhere from two months to over a year ¹-and the Copyright office will not issue a certificate of registration until it is complete. This timing matters because, in most cases, before copyright owners are allowed to bring infringement lawsuits or to recover either statutory damages or attorney's fees, they not only must apply to register their copyright but also actually receive the registration certificate. The result is that many potential copyright