§704 — Title 17 Copyrights | U.S. Code

Summary

Deposits sent to the Copyright Office under sections 407 and 408 become the property of the United States. For published works, the Library of Congress can take deposited copies for its collections or give or trade them with other libraries. For unpublished works, the Library can pick deposits for its collections or send them to the National Archives or a Federal records center (see section 2901 of title 44). The Register of Copyrights can make facsimile copies of any deposited material to keep with the registration records before the items are moved or destroyed. Items the Library does not take are kept under Copyright Office control, sometimes in government storage, for as long as the Register and the Librarian think is practical, and then may be destroyed or disposed of. Unpublished deposits cannot be destroyed while still under copyright unless a full facsimile has been added to the Office records. The depositor or the recorded copyright owner may ask to have one or more items kept under Copyright Office control for the full term of copyright; the Register will set the rules and the fee (see section 708(a)).

Title 17, §704

Copyrights — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Upon their deposit in the Copyright Office under section 407 and 408, all copies, phonorecords, and identifying material, including those deposited in connection with claims that have been refused registration, are the property of the United States Government.

(b)In the case of published works, all copies, phonorecords, and identifying material deposited are available to the Library of Congress for its collections, or for exchange or transfer to any other library. In the case of unpublished works, the Library is entitled, under regulations that the Register of Copyrights shall prescribe, to select any deposits for its collections or for transfer to the National Archives of the United States or to a Federal records center, as defined in section 2901 of title 44.

(c)The Register of Copyrights is authorized, for specific or general categories of works, to make a facsimile reproduction of all or any part of the material deposited under section 408, and to make such reproduction a part of the Copyright Office records of the registration, before transferring such material to the Library of Congress as provided by subsection (b), or before destroying or otherwise disposing of such material as provided by subsection (d).

(d)Deposits not selected by the Library under subsection (b), or identifying portions or reproductions of them, shall be retained under the control of the Copyright Office, including retention in Government storage facilities, for the longest period considered practicable and desirable by the Register of Copyrights and the Librarian of Congress. After that period it is within the joint discretion of the Register and the Librarian to order their destruction or other disposition; but, in the case of unpublished works, no deposit shall be knowingly or intentionally destroyed or otherwise disposed of during its term of copyright unless a facsimile reproduction of the entire deposit has been made a part of the Copyright Office records as provided by subsection (c).

(e)The depositor of copies, phonorecords, or identifying material under section 408, or the copyright owner of record, may request retention, under the control of the Copyright Office, of one or more of such articles for the full term of copyright in the work. The Register of Copyrights shall prescribe, by regulation, the conditions under which such requests are to be made and granted, and shall fix the fee to be charged under section 708(a) if the request is granted.

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Editorial Notes

Amendments

2010—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 111–295 substituted “section 708(a)” for “section 708(a)(10)”. 1990—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 101–318 substituted “708(a)(10)” for “708(a)(11)”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

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of 1990 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 101–318 effective 6 months after July 3, 1990, and applicable to (A) claims to original, supplementary, and renewal copyright received for registration, and to items received for recordation in Copyright Office, on or after such

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, and (B) other requests for services received on or after such

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, or received before such

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for services not yet rendered as of such date, and with claims to original, supplementary, and renewal copyright received for registration and items received for recordation in acceptable form in Copyright Office before such

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, and requests for services which are rendered before such

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, to be governed by section 708 of this title as in effect before such

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, see section 2(d) of Pub. L. 101–318, set out as a note under section 708 of this title.

§704 Retention and disposition of articles deposited in Copyright Office

Summary

Title 17, §704

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Citations & Metadata