Copyright Office Proposes Group Registration Option for News Sites

The U.S. Copyright Office issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register today offering a new group registration option for frequently updated news websites. According to the Federal Register Notice (FRN), the option would allow online news sites to register “a group of updates to a news website as a collective work with a deposit composed of identifying material representing sufficient portions of the works, rather than the complete contents of the website.”

The Office issued the FRN in response to requests from online publishers, who have explained that they have unique concerns when it comes to copyrighting their content. A paper issued in 2011, Priorities and Special Projects of the United States Copyright Office (October 2011–October 2013), first acknowledged this problem, and the Office said it would be engaging with stakeholders in 2012 on potential solutions. While the Office subsequently issued guidance on the issue, online news publishers presently still have to submit a separate application, deposit, and filing fee for each website update, which can be impractical considering such sites are updated on a sometimes-hourly basis. According to some publishers who submitted feedback to the Office, this has resulted in infringers being left ‘‘free to pick and choose from works among that content without fear of significant or immediate consequence.’’

The current process also creates problems for the Office. Some of those identified in the FRN include when applicants submit folders containing hundreds to thousands of disaggregated files that don’t show how the website is organized; when they submit PDF pages that display the website in a linear fashion; or when they attempt to register a website via HTML language rather than a visual depiction. However, the Office only recognizes certain file formats right now, which limits options for accepting other arrangements for deposits. A new “Enterprise Copyright System” that is in development will help to alleviate this problem by accepting large files and new file formats.

The proposed rule will strictly limit eligibility for the new group registration option to news websites,” which will be defined based on the model of the regulation that defines a “newspaper.” This would limit eligibility to “a website that is mainly designed to be a primary source of written information on current events, either local, national, or international in scope, that contains a broad range of news on all subjects and activities and is not limited to any specific subject matter.” (So it seems IPWatchdog would be out of the running).

There will be a “collective work requirement” that would pertain to a type of compilation that must include a “sufficiently creative selection, coordination, or arrangement of the individual component works, such as articles, photographs, illustrations, or other content.” The rule calls for a one-month limitation, so only updates published on the same website within the same calendar month will be accepted. This limitation is mostly to balance the administrative capacity and needs of the Office with copyright owners’ interests.

Additionally, each collective work must be submitted as a work made for hire, with the same entity named as the author and copyright claimant. The filing fee of $95 will be the same as the fee that currently applies to a claim in a group of newspapers.

Comments on the proposed rule must be submitted by February 20, 2024.

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