Short Online Works Copyright Registration Option

The US Copyright Office has issued a final rule adopting a new copyright registration option for groups of short online literary works. This new registration option covers short online literary works such as blogs and social media posts. Acknowledging the impracticality for authors to register each blog or social media post individually, the Copyright Office created this new registration option that allows for the registration of up to fifty (50) short online works at a time.

Eligibility for Group Copyright Registration

In order to be eligible for group copyright registration, the short online works must:

• Consist of no more than fifty (50) works altogether.
• Each contain at least 50 words but not more than 17,500 words.
• Have been created by the same individual, or created jointly by the same individuals.
• Each author must be named as a copyright claimant (i.e. the works cannot be made for hire).

Filing to Short Online Works Group Registration

To file for a group registration of short online works, the application must:

• Be submitted through a new online application form for “Short Online Literary Works.”
• Contain a .zip file with separate digital files for each work as a deposit.

Effective August 17, 2020

The new rule and short online works group copyright registration option will go into effect on August 17, 2020. In the meantime, authors who are interested in taking advantage of this new registration process should start confirming that their works meet the above criteria and collecting deposits of the same so to be ready once the registration process opens.

Need Assistance Registering Your Group of Short Online Works? The attorneys at Traverse Legal can help!